Inner Strength
by Colb-a-nater
Summary: My first story. Ash gets turned into a Pikachu and has to find a way to change back, but with Team Aqua on his back, it wont be easy. It makes it even harder...if you are a father. First few chapters are bad, but later ones are better.
1. Chapter 1

Inner Strength- part 1

Okay, most of you know the characters of the story, but for the other characters, I'll tell you about them.

So the story goes, Ash, May, Brock, Max, and Pikachu are walking along the trail to the nearest city... Which is for some reason, is taking a long, long, long, long time.

"Boy, wonder why it's taking so long just to get to a one mile away city," said Ash.

"Maybe we went the wrong way?" said Brock.

"Hey! Maybe that's it!" shouted May.

It was a city, but it was a very odd city. There where some people, but they all just stood there, smiling, and the houses were all the same color. In fact, all the people had the same clothes, hair dew, and it even looked like they had the same smile! As Ash and the others walked closer to the town, they noticed that everyone was looking at them, weirdly.

"They look like people," said Max.

"I think they're breathing," said Ash.

"But why are they staring at us?" said May.

"Pikachu," said Pikachu on top of Ash's shoulder.

"Maybe they have a store or something," said Brock

As they looked around, there was no store or Pokecenter, it even looked like there isn't any pokemon around!

"What is this place?" said May.

"Now that I've looked at the map, this town isn't even on it!" said Brock.

"Hey look!" Shouted Ash, "They at least have a gym!"

Indeed the town did. A gym right there . . . Almost like it wanted them to go there.

"I don't like this," said Max.

"Well, as long as they give me a Bage, I'm going in!" said Ash.

As soon as Ash was done talking, Ash ran towards the gym, the others just fallowed to see what would happen. As Ash ran up to the door and swung it open with Pikachu still on his shoulder, he ran inside, but just to find out that he ran into a deep, dark hole!

"Ahhhhhhh!" shouted Ash as he fell into the darkness of the hole.

"Pikachuuuuuu!" shouted Pikachu as he fell along with his master.

"Ash!" shouted everyone else.

While this was happening, Team Rocket was spying on the "twerps."

"What are they doing?" said James.

"The twerp with the Pikachu just ran into a hole!" said Jessie.

"I think I heard one of them say, 'this town'," said James.

"There's nothing but dirt and rocks around here," said Meouth.

"Then what could they be doing?" said Jessie.

"Maybe they saw some gold in that hole?" said James, but was later slapped from Jessie.

"That's impossible! ...Wait a second, that hole looks really deep. What if we gave those twerps a little push?" said Jessie.

"Sound like a plan to me!" said James.

"Wabbafet!" said Wabbafet.

Now we go back to trainers that are still at the hole.

"Ash! Can you hear me?" shouted May into the place Ash had fallen.

"Barley! Can you throw me a rope or something?" shouted Ash from the darkness of the hole.

"We don't have a rope, Ash!" shouted Brock.

"Maybe we could ask the people in this town?" said May.

"The people here don't even move. I hardly doubt they will talk," said Max.

"What _do_ you have?" shouted Ash from the invisible hole.

"Um . . . nothing, but we'll find a way!" said Brock.

Then, May had an idea!

"What if we-," but May could not finish her sentence because James just pushed her into the invisible hole!

"Ahhh!" shouted May as she fell into the hole.

"Prepare for trouble!" said Jessie. (I'm sure you know where this is going).

"And make it double!" said James.

(I'm going to make this short, so here's the end of it)

"Team Rocket at the speed of light!" said Jessie.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!" said James.

"Meouth, that's right!" said Meouth.

"Wabba, wabba!" said Wabbafet.

"Grr! Team Rocket! Are you the ones that made this fake town?" said Brock.

"Town? What town?" said Jessie.

"This town! You can't trick us!" said Max.

"Fine, whatever, just get in that hole!" said Jessie, already annoyed.

While Max and Brock were fighting Team Rocket, something weird was going on in the hole.

"Ow, my head," moaned May as she recovered from the fall.

"You okay, May?" said Ash.

"I think so. What is this place?" said May.

The cave was pitch black and very humid. Ash and May had to wipe their brows from their sweat because they were sweating so much.

Then, in the darkness, was a voice.

"Hello, Ash. Hello, May," said the voice.

The voice sounded both a male's and a female's and they couldn't see his/her face in the dark.

"Who are you? How do you know our names?" asked Ash.

"I'm a scientist. I like to experiment, so I need you to help me with one I'm doing," said the voice.

"I'm not going to let you touch me!" said Ash.

"Who said I was going to touch you?" said the voice.

Then, a torch came aflare and Ash and May could see the person talking. The person wore a black robe with a hood on his/her head, so they couldn't see the person's face.

"What is it you want the most in this world?" said the voice.

"Why should I answer you?" said Ash.

"Is it fame, money, glory, or, as they say, the best trainer of them all?" said the voice.

"Who are you?" asked Ash.

"I am called many names, but you may call me Artemis. Now answer my question," said Artemis.

"Ash, just tell the guy. He might be able to get us out of here," whispered May.

"Okay, fine. I want to be the best trainer of them all, there are you happy?" said Ash.

"An obvious answer. Which is what the experiment is for," said Artemis.

Then Artemis got a bottle filled with an orange liquid out from his pocket, or back, or something.(It's hard to see in the dark).

"Ready?" said Artemis.

"No I'm not letting you touch me or her! Pikachu, thunder shock!" said Ash.

"Pikachuuuuu!" said Pikachu as he unleashed a bright light of thunder towards Artemis.

But, all the electricity went around Artemis, like if Artemis had a shield or something. Then Artemis raised the bottle, and all the electricity went strait into the bottle.

"Pikachu, enough," said Ash.

"Now it is done. With this, Ash, you will become the best of them all. Just simply drink it, smell it, or even touch it and you will be the best," said Voice, and tossed the open bottle to Ash, but Ash was a little clumsy. Instead of caching the bottle, Ash dropped it onto the floor.

"Oops," said Ash.

"Ash! How could you just drop it?" said May, angrily.

Then, the fumes from the potion came strait to Ash's nose and he felt a little dizzy. It was too dark to see, for Voice had gone away and blew out the flame on the torch, but May could hear Ash in pain as he screamed into the air.

"Ash? Where are you? What's wrong?" said May, concerned.

But Ash could neither see her or hear her from his screams of pain. Something was happening, he could feel his body changing. He felt his clothes fall off while he was getting smaller, but he wasn't only shrinking, he was changing. Then, he stopped screaming.

Soon, May (just like a blond moment, even that she is a brunet) remembered that she had a flash light in her pocket. May took out the flash light and turned it on.

"Ash? Ash!" shouted May.

"I'm over here," said Ash.

"Where?"

"Right below you, May," said Ash.

May pointed her flash light down, but it's what she saw that made her gasp. Ash's clothes laid there beside him (except his hat was still on his head), but he wasn't naked, he had been turned into a Pokemon! A Pikachu, to be exact.

"Ash? Is that you?" said the frighten May.

"Ya, it's me. Why do you have that look on our face? You look like I got something on my face or something," said the Pikachu Ash.

"Um, not quite, Ash," and May and took out her hand-held mirror and pointed the flashlight at Ash, so that he can see what happened.

"What the? What happened to me?!" said Ash.

May wasn't sure what to say, for she didn't even know.

Meanwhile, up on the ground where Team Rocket and Brock and Max were:

"Now you're gonna get it!" said Brock "Go Onix!" and Brock and through out his Pokeball to reveal his Onix.

"Srviper, go!" shouted Jessie as she through her Pokeball.

"Kacnia, g- ow!" shouted James as his Kacnia hugged him with it's needles after it was released from the Pokeball.

"Ow! Why do you have to do that all the time?" said James to his Kacnia.

"Onix, tackle!" said Brock to his Onix, who did as he was told.

Onix sprang towards Srviper and tackled his head against Srviper's. Srviper was knocked out cold.

"Ow! Kacni- ow, use poison sting. Ow!" said James through Kacnia's needle hug.

Kacnia let go of James and pointed his arms at Onix and fired thousands of needles towards Onix, but Onix was a rock type Pokemon, so the needles just bounced off.

"Onix, use another tackle!" said Brock to his Pokemon.

Onix knocked out Kacnia with it's rock head, and James got his Pokeball and told it to return, Jessie did the same with her fallen Pokemon. Then James and Jessie looked at each other and then at Brock.

"What?" asked Brock.

"This is the first time that you twerps beat our Pokemon and we didn't blast off!" said Jessie.

"Oh . . . Should we stick to tradition?" asked Brock.

"How about we just run before you hit us?" said James.

"Na. Onix, another tackle to get them out-of-here!" said Brock to his Pokemon.

Onix then gave another tackle and shot them upwards with Team Rocket saying, "Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!" and the distant sound of, "Wabbafet!"

"Well we beat them, but how are we going to get Ash and May out of the hole?" said Max.

"Maybe if Onix put its tail in the hole, Ash and May could clime it?" suggested Brock.

"No, the hole's too small for Onix's tail. Hm. How about you lean into the hole, and I'll hold on to your legs so you wont fall?" said Max.

"That could work, but I'm a little heavy."

"Hey! I'm pretty strong!"

So, Brock climbed into the hole with his legs sticking out, while Max held onto his legs. Then Brock shouted into the hole for Ash and May to grab his hands.

"Ash! May! We're here! Come grab on!" shouted Brock into the hole.

"Okay, we're coming!" shouted back May.

Brock could fell May's hands grab his and he told Max to pull.

"Man, you _are_ heavy!" said Max while pulling up Brock and May.

Eventually, they got her out.

"Okay, Ash! Now it's your turn!" said Brock into the hole.

"Um, how about Pikachu goes first, then me?" said Ash, hidden in the darkness of the hole.

"Uh, sure," said Brock, confused.

Then, Brock could fell Pikachu's small hands on his and he told Max to pull. Pikachu was lighter, so it took less time.

"Okay, Ash! Now you _got_ to come!" said Brock.

"I'm not sure I want to," said Ash.

"Why not?" said Brock.

"Just... Because... Okay, but you're not going to like it," said Ash.

Brock was a little confused with what Ash said, but he felt some hands and told Max to pull.

When Brock could make out Ash's face with the light coming in, he almost let Ash go. They soon pulled him out, and then everyone stared.

"Um, why did Ash hand me another Pikachu, with his favorite hat on it? Ash must still be down there!" said Brock, about to get back to the hole.

"No, Brock. It's me," said the Pikachu Ash.

"It talks!" said Max.

"Duh! It's me guys!" said Ash, a little annoyed.

Max fainted and Brock just stared. Wondering if it really is Ash.

"Ash?" said Brock

"Yes! This is me! How many times do I have to say it?" said Ash to Brock.

"I just can't believe this happened again," said Brock.

"This happened before?" said May.

"Yes you see, before we even came to the Hoenn region, we met a witch, and she told us that she could give Ash an ability to be able to go into Pikachu's mind, but she accidently turned Ash into a Pikachu," explained Brock.

"How did you turn him back to a human?" asked May.

"The spell eventually wore off," said Brock, "So, how did Ash turn into a Pikachu again?" asked Brock.

So, May told them about Artemis and about the potion. When she was through, Brock simply nodded his head, understanding everything.

"Hm, that's almost what the witch did to Ash. So, maybe it'll ware off too," said Brock.

"Maybe, but this feels different than before. But then, I haven't been a Pikachu ever since then," said Ash.

"How long did it take for you to turn back?" asked Max after getting back up from fainting.

"About two or three days," said Ash.

"Hm, this is still all weird, but I guess we still need to just keep moving," said May.

So they agreed to keep moving and wait for Ash to turn back to a human, but they where still a little worried about what had happened in that hole.

Who was Artemis?

Why did he turn Ash into a Pikachu?

How did he know their names?

Whatever those reasons are, they can't be good. But, they didn't have time to worry on it, so they kept moving, even that Ash was now a Pikachu with a hat on. That _must_ have felt weird.

Pikachu was actually very happy that his master was a Pikachu too, so every time everyone stopped to rest, Ash and Pikachu just played together. The others liked to watch them play tag, wrestle, or play hide-and-go-seek.

Eventually, the group found a small town.

"Hey, Brock, What city is this?" asked Ash on May's shoulder.

"Hm," Brock got out the map, "I think this is Xemson Town." (I made up the name, so don't expect to see it in the T.V. show)

"Xemson Town? (z-em-son) I never heard of that town," said Max.

"Hey!" said Brock, " Listen to this: For over twenty years, people in Xemson Town hunted Pokemon, not catch them." Pikachu gasped, "But because of this, the Pokemon population decreased by over 85! So now they have a law not to hunt Pokemon."

"Well that's good," said Max.

"Especially for me and Pikachu," said Ash.

Everyone laughed.

"Well lets go see what they have," said May.

So, they went to see what the small town had. It seemed like an average town. They had some stores, restaurants, Pokecenters, and people that moved and waved at them. Ash had to stop talking, because it might seem weird to hear a talking Pikachu.

"Well? What do you guys think about the town?" asked Brock

"Not much here really," said Max, "Maybe we should just keep walking."

"No, I want to look in the stores and restaurants," said May.

"Okay, but first lets get to a Pokecenter," said Brock.

As they walked to the nearest Pokecenter, they noticed a large crowd around the corner. Out of curiosity, they went to see what it was about.

"Welcome, welcome!" said someone on a microphone, "Welcome, to our 5th annual Grow-A-Pokemon. Here, we get all the Pokemon in the town and let them breed to increase the Pokemon population!"

"That is not good," whispered Ash into May's ear.

"What do you mean? Don't you want there to be lots of Pokemon?" whispered May back to Ash. "Brock said that the Pokemon population went down by 85. I think they just want to bring back up the population."

"Ya, but, I'm a Pokemon now. That means that I would have to breed," whispered Ash into May's ear.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's only for towns people's Pokemon," whispered May back to Ash.

As if on cue, Officer Jenny came and said, "Hello, are your Pokemon ready to breed?"

"Um, sorry, but no. We're just travelers," said Max.

"But I'm ready, Officer Jenny! Please be mine!" said Brock before having his ear pulled by Max.

"No! Officer Jenny! Please! No!" shouted Brock as Max pulled him away.

"Ignore him," said May.

"Well, um, either way, you still have to give us your Pokemon. It's the law here, for town's folk or visitors," said Officer Jenny.

"I don't like this," whispered Max into his sister's ear after teaching Brock his lesson.

"So, I guess I'll just be taking these Pikachu's," said Officer Jenny while taking Ash and Pikachu, "Do you have any more Pokemon?"

"Um, no," said everyone, while hiding their Pokeballs.

"Okay, we'll tell you when you can take them back, but for now, have a nice day." and Officer Jenny left with Ash and Pikachu.

"This isn't good," said Brock after recovering from the ear pull.

"This sounds like something Team Rocket would do," said Max.

"Ya, but, this is Officer Jenny, she wouldn't lie to us," said May.

"Maybe, maybe not. We'll have to find a way to at least see them," said Max.

While they are finding a way, Ash and Pikachu where having some difficulties.

"Pika Pikachu! Pikachu!" said Pikachu, trying to get out of Officer Jenny's grip.

"Sorry guys, but it's the law," said Officer Jenny and put Pikachu in a tall box and Ash in another.

Soon when Officer Jenny walked away, Ash tried to find which box was Pikachu's.

"Pikachu? Where are you?" said Ash.

He couldn't see over his box, and he had to whisper loudly, so no one will hear him talk. But then, Pikachu wont hear him talk either.

Then, Ash heard some people talking. Then he saw some people carrying a female Pikachu with a pink bow on her head.

"It's just odd," Ash heard one of them say, "She doesn't like any of the Pokemon here, and because of that, she the last one." That gave Ash a relief, because is she didn't like any Pokemon _and_ she's the last one, he could get out of here!

"Well, little guy, looks like your friend got the last girl," Ash over heard Officer Jenny talking to a Pokemon. Then she picked it up, and he saw that it was his Pikachu.

"Time for you to go home," said Officer Jenny to Ash's Pikachu.

_Great_, Ash thought. _Pikachu_ _gets all the luck._

Then, the people around Ash carrying the female Pikachu, put her next to Ash, and watched.

The female Pikachu looked at Ash with great, big, amber, eyes. Ash would have thought she could be a cute Pokemon to keep, not to love.

Then, the female Pikachu looked at Ash with lots of interest, studying his hat, eyes, body, etcetera. Then, the female Pikachu ran to Ash and gave him a breath taking hug. Everyone around said, "Aw."

"Well, it seems we've got a match," said one of the people.

"Yep, let me get the trainers that own these lovers," said one lady as she walked off. In a few seconds, May and Max where running over to Ash's box. Brock was just trying to flirt with one of the girl trainers.

As soon as May saw the female Pikachu hugging Ash, she went completely mad for some reason. She grabbed the female Pikachu and tried to yank the female Pikachu away from Ash, but was shortly electrocuted by the pikachu.

"Okay, you can have him," said May, after being shocked.

"You shouldn't do that you know. When a Pokemon falls in love, they'll hold on to each other for hours and hurt anyone that separates them," said a lady near May.

"Oh, thanks for the update," said May, still angry at the female Pikachu for some reason.

Then, someone on the microphone said, "Hello everyone! Can we have your attention, please?"

"They look familiar," said Max.

The man talking to the microphone was wearing bright blue all over him, and he had a bright blue head band that had a semble. That semble looked just like the sign of-

"Team Agua!" shouted Max.

"Oh, no, not here! Not here," said May.

Yes, the man talking was a part of Team Agua, and now that Max shouted his team name out, he simply said,

"Yes, I'm a part of Team Agua, and now we have more Pokemon than ever before! Just to let you know, none of this is real, so sleep tight." Then, he through out a Butterfree and told it to do sleep powder. Butterfree flew across the whole town, while releasing the sleeping powder. Ash hid in a corner of his box, so sleep powder wont fall on him. The female Pikachu was scared, so she held onto Ash with even more strength. _Great_, thought Ash, _I don't think I can go anywhere without her hanging on me_.

By now everyone (besides Team Agua, Ash, and the female Pikachu) were asleep.

Ash tried to find a way to get out of his box and felt around. It was made out of a tough rubber and was freezing to the touch. _I guess it was made for every type of Pokemon,_ thought Ash.

Then Ash could hear the man from Team Agua talking:

"Butterfree, return!" shouted the Team Agua man as the red light came out of his Pokeball. Ash could hear him laughing, then he heard a female human's voice.

"Wow, that was a big crowd, Ray," said the female human.

"I know, It took me forever to send out ads. to tell everyone to come here," said Ray.

"Hey! I did most of the work here! I had to buy the paint _and_ paint this whole ruined town," said the female human.

"Well excuse me! Now that I think about it, who's the one that made all the boxes, nets, and all the other stuff?" said Ray.

"Okay, fine. Lets just grab these Pokemon and get out of here," said the female human.

Ash couldn't see over the box, but he could hear the two people outside, and one of their voices sounded familiar. Then, Ash heard nets being thrown and Pokemon being picked up. Then, one of them, Ash guessed was Ray, looked in his box and saw Ash and the female Pikachu.

"Well! Look who didn't fall asleep. I wonder how that happened," said Ray. "All-well. Right now, you're coming with me."

Ray grabbed the female Pikachu and tried to put it inside a bag he had brought. The female Pikachu was not happy that she was away from Ash, so she released a thunder shock on Ray's hands, but Ray was wearing rubber gloves. Ray just chuckled, and kept trying to force the female Pikachu into the bag, but she was not giving up. She then bit into the gloves, which sank into the rubber and, soon, into the skin. Ray shouted out in pain and let go of the female Pikachu. She then jumped right back into the box and hugged Ash.

Ray was now really mad and got out a knife. The female Pikachu saw the weapon and let go of Ash and got ready to fight.

First, Ray tried to stab the knife into the Pikachu, but she used a Quick Attack to get away. Then, in only seconds, was scratching all over Ray's face. Ray grabbed her and was about to cut her with the knife, but the female Pikachu used an Iron Tail and cut off the hand Ray used to hold the knife with. Ray yelled and held on to his bleeding hand. Ash was dumbfounded that this Pikachu could fight without anyone giving her instructions.

Then, out of nowhere, came a blue beam of light that got the female Pikachu right in the back. The poor little creature screamed out of pain, and fainted.

"Having a little trouble with one Pokemon, Ray?" came back the female human, still out of sight.

"Shut up, Misty!" said Ray clutching his bleeding arm.

Could it be? Ash hasn't seen her in months.

No, Misty might be just a famous name for girls. It can't be her.

Then, came "her".

She looked down at Ash, not knowing it was him thanks to the Pikachu body, but recognize his hat.

"Where did you get that hat, little fella'?" said Ash's old friend, Misty.

Ash couldn't talk, even if he could, he wouldn't be able to get any words out of his closed throat.

Misty.

No.

Can't be.

Not her.

No.

A tear fell down Ash's eye.

"Aw, this one's crying," said Misty with an evil smile. "Come on, we'll take you to a place where you'll feel better."

"And your girlfriend," said Ray, holding the bag with the female Pikachu in it with his good arm. They both laughed.

"Here, put some bandages over your arm while I get this one," said Misty while tossing a roll of bandages to Ray. Then grabbed Ash.

Ash didn't fight back, he just couldn't move.

Misty.

No.

Can't be you.

Then, the bag that held the female Pikachu, started to turn red.

"What the?" started Ray, but the bag just got brighter and brighter.

The bag was obviously made out of rubber, but everything has its limits. The Pikachu in there must be REALLY mad that she was away from Ash and is trying with all her might to brake free.

Ray tried to hold on to the bag, but it was getting very hot and he was screaming in the pain as he held on. Eventually, the bag burst open, flinging Ray and Misty backwards, and out came the female Pikachu.

She looked at the two people, then looked very mad. She used Quick Attack on Ray with such speed that if you'd blink, you would've mist it. Then she thunder shocked him, knocking him out cold, and did a Quick Attack to Misty. The female Pikachu then kept scratching Misty's wrists until she let go of Ash. Ash was soon free of Misty's grip, and ran to the female Pikachu.

Ash couldn't fight, not in this body, he would have to ask his Pikachu how to fight. As for now, he would have to be the female Pikachu's trainer.

"Pikachu, use thunder shock!" said Ash to the female Pikachu.

The Pikachu looked at him, as if saying, _you're not my trainer,_ or,_ you can talk?_, but looked back at Misty and unleashed one of the most powerful thunder shocks Ash had ever seen.

Out came the bright yellow light from the Pikachu's cheeks, and towards Misty. But right before the thunder got to Misty, Ash could see the way she looked at him. The look told him that she knew it was him. Ash could have even sworn that he saw Misty mouth out, "Ash".

Then, the thunder shocked her hard. Ash could hear her scream in pain, it tore him apart.

Then, she stopped screaming.

She was breathing, but she was knocked out.

Ash look away. The female Pikachu was happy with her victory, but then she looked at Ash with concern in her eyes. Anyone could see the sadness in his eyes.

Misty will have to go to jail. I'll ask her then.

But still, why?

The female Pikachu came closer to Ash, trying to send comfort to whatever it is that is troubling her love. Ash just looked at her, then to his friends that were asleep next to his box. Right now, the female Pikachu and Ash were standing on the grown, but Ash felt lower than that.

The female came even closer to Ash, enough to were he could see every detail in her face. He tried to back up, get his personal space, but the female Pikachu kept getting a little closer. She kept doing that till Ash tripped from backing up so much, and then, the female Pikachu kissed Ash. Right on the lips.

Call it weird, but that was what the female Pikachu did. Ash tried to push her away, but she still kept her lips to his.

Then, May woke up and saw them kissing.

From the bottom of the ocean, was a man at a desk. A desk that was in a sub at about 4,500 ft below sea level right now. The man watched his computer screen on his desk with anger. The man was a part of Team Agua, and was not glad that their plain had failed.

But then, he saw a Pikachu in the video. Then he told the computer to zoom in. It showed that Pikachu talking.

"How odd," said the man.

After all the Pokemon where sent to the Pokecenter and all the people woke up, Ash, May, Brock, Max, Pikachu, and the female Pikachu were sitting in a separate room in the Pokecenter.

"What was that all about?!" said May, angrily to Ash.

"_She_ kissed _me_, okay? I tried to push her away!" shouted back Ash to May.

"Guys, calm down. Look, the other Pikachu is trying to breed with Ash, right?" said Max.

"Right," said everyone except for Ash who whispered to himself, "Against my own will."

"So, I hate to say this, but how do Pikachues breed?" said Max.

"Lets ask Dexter," said May, through clenched teeth.

Then, May got her Pokedex and asked it how Pikachues breed.

"Pikachu breeding process," said the Pokedex. "A male and a female Pikachu breed by pressing their lips together, as some call it a kiss." Everyone looked at Ash. "Then, the sperm from the male Pikachu goes through its mouth and into the female Pikachu's body. Then the offspring starts to develop closely afterward. The development usually takes about two or three days," said the Pokedex and then turned off.

"Only two or three days?! How is that possible?" said May.

"Well, I have studied a lot about Pokemon, but I never thought of studding how they breed," said Max.

"She could be pregnant right now for all we know," said May.

"Calm down sis, she would be showing the effects right now if it took only that long," said Max.

"So, we haven't bred yet?" said Ash, cautiously. May gave him a look.

"I don't think so," said Max. Ash felt very relieved. "But that means she is going to keep trying to." Ash's relief went away.

Just then, the female Pikachu went up to Ash and hugged him. He didn't try to get away, he knew that was impossible, but he _did_ try to make sure that his lips weren't close to her's. May looked away and walked to another room.

"Well, Ash. The owners said that we have to keep her till you two breed. Trust me, I'm not looking forward to it either, but might as well get it over with so we can keep going," said Brock.

"Personally, I don't like kissing or breeding with Pokemon," said Ash.

"Sorry, but it looks like you don't have a choice," said Brock.

Then, Ash noticed that the female Pikachu was falling asleep.

"I guess its been a long day," said Ash, "I'm going to take a nap."

"Aren't you worried about Team Agua escaping?" said Brock.

After everyone woke up, both members of Team Agua disappeared. Ash didn't tell him about Misty, he just didn't want to tell him.

"Hey, Pikachu," said Ash, but both Pikachues looked at him. "Uh, we got to give the girl a name."

"How about, Brittany?" said Brock.

"No, how about Sam?" said Max.

"No, it has to be a Pokemon-kind-of-name," said Ash.

"Hm, how about Joy? After my true love," said Brock, staring into space.

"No, how about Misty?" said Max.

Ash froze.

Where did Max hear that name from?

"One time, at a hospital, I heard a lady trying to pick a name for her baby, and one of the options was Misty," explained Max.

"I think that could work. You know, one of our friends name's was Misty," said Brock.

"Really? What was she like?" asked Max.

"She was okay. If you include all the 'Where's my bike?' and 'What did you say?' and 'I think all water Pokemon are so cute' than, she's pretty crazy," said Brock to Max, but while they where talking, Ash was still thinking of that look on Misty's face before she got electrocuted.

Misty.

Why?

_Because I felt like it!_


	2. Chapter 2

Inner Strength part 2

Ash's eyes opened.

_What a weird dream, _thought Ash. _I turned into a Pokemon and Misty was a part of Team Agua and a girl Pikachu liked me. What a weird dream._

Ash looked around, he was in one of the spare rooms of a Pokecenter. He has been to one of these before, no biggy. There was May, sleeping on a bed, and Brock and Max are sleeping on two other beds, but why was he on the floor? And why does he feel something grabbing his arm?

Ash looked to his side and saw Misty II.

_Oh, no. It wasn't a dream!_ The female Pikachu that they named Misty II was still hugging Ash's arm. Ash looked at his free hand. It was yellow and small. No dream.

He saw his hat next to where he was sleeping and reached for it.

Misty II stirred_. Oh, no. She's going to wake up and try to kiss me again! _Ash tried to pull his arm out of Misty II's hand without waking her up._ Slowly, slowly... _Ash's arm popped out.

Ash's worries fell, or some of them. He grabbed his hat and put on his head. He stood up and looked at himself. A yellow tail, small yellow body, brown stripes, and long yellow ears with a bit of brown on them. Yep, he's a Pikachu.

Then, he remembered that voice in his head. _Because_ _I felt like it. _What was that? Ash shrugged, maybe it was just him.

Ash walked quietly over to May's bed where she was still sleeping. He looked at her, she seemed different somehow, or...was she just the same. She just seemed prettier, somehow. What was this? This new feelingabout her...or... was this feeling here all along?

Right when Ash was starting to think more about it, May stirred and woke up, looking at him.

"Well, good morning, Pikachu," said May.

"I'm not Pikachu. I'm Ash, May," corrected Ash.

"Huh? I thought that was just a dream," said May while looking down.

"So did I," said Ash, looking into May's eyes. Wow, they're beautiful.

"What are you looking at?" asked May, noticing Ash looking at her.

"Huh? Oh, nothing," said Ash while trying to shake off whatever that was.

"Hm. Well, is everyone else awake?" asked May.

"No, not yet," said Ash.

That changed right when red lights and sirens came on.

"What's going on?" stirred Max after being awaken from the noise of the sirens.

"I don't know," shouted Ash.

Then, the door to their room burst open. Out came a man wearing the Team Agua clothes holding a gun. Right behind him was a Kadabra.

"Everybody, out into the main room! Move it!" shouted the man.

After being pushed into a large room in the Pokecenter, Ash and the gang saw a large crowd of people stuffed in a corner.

"Get over there now!" shouted the Team Agua man to Ash and the gang.

"What if we don't?" asked May.

"Then I'm going to have to shoot you. Now move it!" said the man.

Then the man shoved May into the crowd of people and told the others to follow. Misty II started getting scared and grabbed Ash's arm. Ash didn't fight her off, it was impossible.

After everyone was in one corner, the man started to point his gun at different people.

"Okay, I think that's everyone. Now, my assistant is busy trying to turn this darn noise off, so I'll just cut to the chase!" shouted the man over the sirens.

"Please place every Pokemon in the middle here!" said the man while pointing his gun at a spot on the floor.

"We wouldn't just give up our Pokemon! We love them!" said a girl in the crowd.

Then, the man pointed his gun at one of the red lights on the wall and shot it. A beam of blue light followed by a high pitched noise came out of the gun and blew up the red light, leaving a hole in the wall. Ash remembered Misty II being shot by the same blue light from Misty, that must be the same gun.

"Would you if your life was against it?" said the man.

The crowd looked at themselves, then at their Pokeballs. Then they dropped their Pokeballs onto the spot that the man pointed at.

"Is that all of them?" asked the man, but then saw Ash, Pikachu and Misty II.

"That includes them," said the man, pointing his gun at the three Pikachues.

May looked at Ash, as if to ask permission. Ash nodded and walked to the spot.

Then the sirens turned off and the red lights stopped flashing.

"Finally! She turned that darn thing off!" said the man, speaking to himself.

"Now, we are looking for one Pokemon. Just one. So, I want everyone that placed their Pokeballs here to open them so I can see which one is the one we are looking for," said the man.

While all the other trainers where doing that, another Team Agua person walked into the room. She had long, red hair and brown eyes, and was wearing the Team Agua uniform. She had a gun holstered right at her side.

"Find it yet?" said the girl.

"Nope, but I know it's in here somewhere," said the man.

"It could have already ran off by now, Jeff," said the girl. "It has already been a day."

"I know, but I just have this feeling," said Jeff.

"Hm. Do you remember what happened the last time we trusted 'your feelings'?" said the girl.

"Shut up, Taylor!" said Jeff.

"We almostlost our jobs because of those feelings of yours," continued Taylor.

"Shut up! Lets just try to find this thing," said Jeff.

"Do you even know what it looks like?" said Taylor.

Jeff thought about it for a while, then grabbed a slim, small, black phone out from his pocket, pressed a button, and put it on his ear.

"Jeff...four, nine, five, two... sornon," said Jeff into his phone.

Jeff waited awhile, then a small beep came.

"Ya, it's me... They're right in front of me...I need to know what this thing looks like... well, just give me a description!..Uh, huh. . .What color hat?" said Jeff into his phone. Ash quietly took off his hat and passed it over to May so she could hide it.

"Okay, got it," said Jeff and hung up his phone.

"So, which one is it?" asked Taylor after all the trainers opened their Pokeballs and told their Pokemon to stay still.

"They said it was a Pikachu with a hat," said Jeff.

Jeff and Taylor looked at the Pokemon, then at the three Pikachues.

"Kadabra, use psychic on those Pikachues," said Jeff to his Pokemon.

Kadabra looked hard at the three, then made them levitate.

One of the other trainers could not bare to see these two thieves just take everyone's Pokemon.

"Gr! Charmander, ember!" said the trainer to one of the Pokemon at the spot.

"Char!" shouted the Charmander as the flames came out of his mouth and towards the members of Team Agua.

"Kadabra, stop it," said Jeff, almost lazily.

Kadabra looked away from the three Pikachues (because of this, they fell to the ground) and at the flames that came out of Charmander's mouth. Then, the flames stopped right in front of Kadabra's head and then curved away and went straight to the wall. The master of the Charmander looked shocked at how easily that Pokemon deflected his attack.

Then Jeff pointed his gun at the Charmander and pulled the trigger. The blue light came out of the hole of the gun and raced towards Charmander's body.

But then, a small yellow flash came by and pushed Charmander's body away from the blast. If you would have blinked, you would have missed it.

BAM! The blue ray hit the floor where Charmander originally was.

"What the?" started Jeff, but then saw who pushed the victim away.

It was Ash. _Is this a new move?_ Thought Ash. _Of corse, Pikachu is known for having great speed! That means that I just learned quick attack!_ Ash then looked at the saved Charmander, who was thanking him (I think. Not everybody can understand the Pokemon language), then looked at the people crowded in the corner. _I can help them now_, thought Ash. Then, by using his new skill, ran towards Jeff and, in a blink of an eye, grabbed the gun out of his hand.

"Huh? How did that thing do that?" wondered Jeff when he lost his gun to the Pikachu.

"Stop 'huhing' and start trying to grab that thing!" shouted Taylor.

Taylor told Kadabra to keep everyone in the corner, and if they try to get out, psychic beam.

Jeff ran towards Ash and tried to get his gun back.

"Get back here, you little!" shouted Jeff at Ash, even that he knew that it wouldn't stop him.

But Ash was too fast for any human to keep up. One second he was on the floor, then he was on a cabinet, then he running on the wall, then he was . . . well, you get the idea. Jeff was wondering how this Pikachu could run this fast without a trainer to tell him what to do. This could be the one.

Ash was getting tired from all the running and quick attacks he did. He was actually starting to slow down! Soon, Jeff was right behind him and got him stuck in another corner at the back of the Pokecenter.

"Trapped, little buddy!" said Jeff to Ash.

Then, Ash remembered that he still had the gun. He pointed the gun (using both of his small hands) at Jeff. Jeff started to back up, but Ash was still pointing at him. Ash didn't want to kill him, he just wanted to hurt him, so Ash pointed the gun at Jeff's leg and pulled the trigger. Nothing came out.

"Oh, ya! This is the first time that the 'only two ammo' gun actually helped!" said Jeff, relived.

Uh, oh. Now Jeff was reaching for Ash, and Ash was too tired to do another quick attack, plus he was cornered.

Then, An ice beam shot Jeff right on the back, freezing him. Ash looked behind Jeff and saw that May had somehow brought out her Squrtile.

"May! How did you get passed Taylor and her Kadabra?" asked Ash.

"Well, Taylor went to the bathroom, so we just used all our Pokemon to gang up on Kadabra," said May.

"Who's 'we'?" asked Ash.

"All the other trainers in the corner and me," said May.

"Wait, if Taylor just went to the bathroom, then that means she could come out at any second!" said Ash, worried.

"Don't worry, Ash. We already barricaded the door and called the police. Her and Jeff are going to get busted this time!" said May.

Wish it was that simple. The gun that Ash was still holding was beeping. A tiny red light on the very end of the gun was blinking every time it beeped. Then Ash looked at the frozen Jeff; he was smiling.

Then, Ash and May knew what it was, a bomb! Ash ran out of the room with the last bit of energy he had. He passed by the trainers, who where rejoicing in their victory, and smashed through the door and outside. Then, he threw the gun up in the air as much as possible.

The gun stopped beeping in the air, and sent a loud, sonic boom sound, sending shockwaves everywhere.

The sonic boom went everywhere throughout the town, braking windows and popping other town folks'/travelers' ear drums.

It hit Ash too, and with his new Pikachu hearing, it popped his ear drums in almost two seconds. Then, he fainted.

The shockwaves broke the ice Jeff was in, setting him free. He climbed out of the ice shell he was in, shivering the whole time. All the Team Agua members had some special ear plugs that let you hear people talking _and_ block loud, ear piercing noise. He walked over (while still shivering)to the bathroom Taylor was in, while looking at the other people trying to cover their ears from the sound. He chuckled, he knew no one could hear him, but it was just funny seeing them scream for mercy.

Jeff pushed all the stuff that barricaded the bathroom Taylor was in (which hurt like hell because his skin was so weak from the cold) and let her out. She had the ear plugs on too, so she just walked with him and chuckled at the other shrieking people. As they walked outside, they saw someone faint. That made them laugh even harder. You wouldn't be able to hear them, but if you saw them, you could see that their faces turned red, except for Jeff, his was still trying to turn back to the regular white instead of pale.

Jeff opened the doors to go outside. There in front of them was the Pikachu that stole their gun and tried to get away. This one is obviously it.

Taylor got out a rubber net and placed Ash in it while Jeff was shivering like crazy.

May was trying to get this noise out of her head, it's killing her! She looked up, and saw the two people from Team Agua. Taylor had a net in her hand and Jeff was grabbing Ash! She had to do something! But what? This noise makes it impossible to move without loads of pain moving throughout your whole body.

Then, she saw them toss Ash's body into the net and carried it like a bag. May saw Jeff push a button at the side of his pocket, and they where consumed with a dark blue light, then disappeared.

As soon as they left, the noise stopped and May was able to think a little more. She looked over to Brock, who was right next to her. He moved his mouth, as if he was saying something, but all that noise from the sonic boom left a small beep in her ears, covering all the voices around her.

She saw some police cars come over to the front of the Pokecenter. _That's right_, thought May. _We called the police when we thought we caught Jeff. Maybe they could still help us. _Officer Jenny jumped out of her car and saw May. Officer Jenny said something into her walky-talky, and walked into the Pokecenter, towards her. She looked angry for some reason as she walked over to May. She said something, but the aftershock from the sonic boom in May's ears wouldn't let her hear Officer Jenny.

Then Officer Jenny got out her cuffs and hand cuffed May's hands.

Ash's eyes opened...again.

He looked around: he was in some kind of a small, gray room. He looked at himself, he was still a Pikachu, he still had his hat, was this a dream? He pressed his hand on the wall, it was some sort of rubber. As he scaled the wall, he saw a small TV with a camera next to it.

Then, Ash remembered being caught by Team Agua. Was this their HQ?

The TV turned on.

"Well, well. You're finally awake," said the TV with a screen shot of Ash in his Pikachu body.

"Who are you and where are my friends?" shouted Ash at the TV.

"Don't worry about them. They're just relaxing at the prison right now," said the TV while showing a pitcher of all of Ash's friends in a jail.

"You put them in jail? They didn't do anything! Get them out of there right now!" shouted Ash, getting angry.

"Clam down, you will see your friends soon, but might I like to mention one little mistake you just did."

The TV showed Ash of what happened just a few seconds ago. It showed that a Pikachu was talking fluent English.

Ash was shock at how easily he was tricked.

"So? I've seen a Meouth talk," said Ash to the TV.

"Maybe, but a Pokemon has never been smart enough to tell another Pokemon what to do, exactly like a human trainer would," said the TV.

The TV played another video of Ash, but it was when he was fighting Misty. It showed that he gave Misty II commands to thunder shock Misty, "just like a trainer would".

Then, the TV started to show files and pitchers of Ash.

"We know who you are, Ash," said the TV.

Ash was silent, so the TV went on.

"While you where sleeping, we took a sample of your blood. Our scientists found human and Pikachu DNA in your DNA. The human DNA was yours. Plus, one of our workers told us who you are," said the TV.

Now the TV started to show pitchers of Misty.

Ash was silent, he still couldn't believe Misty would do such a thing.

"We need you to answer some of our questions," said the TV.

"Or what?" asked Ash.

"Or your friends at the prison will get the death penalty," said the TV.

Ash was silent again. _Man, these people are good! _Thought Ash.

Ash took a deep breath and said, "Okay...I'll do it."

"I thought so. Now to ask you the questions will be that someone you know," said the TV and turned off.

Ash heard a click, and a door that was almost unnoticeable opened. And in walked Misty.

"Misty?" said Ash.

"ASH! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO THAT TO ME! You think you're so all that, that you can just walk up to me and tell a Pikachu to shock me! Is that it? HUH?!" shouted May at Ash.

_She hasn't changed one bit._

"Misty, you where going to steal all those Pokemon. What happened to you?" asked Ash.

"What happened to me? I thought you said 'I haven't changed one bit'!" shouted Misty to Ash.

"I didn't say that," said Ash.

"Yes you did! Now stop playing around! How did you turn back into a Pikachu again? Did you meet that witch again? ANSWER ME!" said Misty.

"Why did you go with Team Agua, Misty? After all we've been through, all the adventures we've had, after all the Pokemon we've saved and defeated. We fought Team Rocket thousands of times, and you think it's okay to join Team Agua? Misty why?!" said Ash, starting to cry.

A tear fell.

Misty saw the tear, and started to calm down.

"Because, they have my Inner Strength," said Misty, calmly.

"Inner Strength? What does that have to do with friends and love?" asked Ash.

Misty looked at him. Ash then found out what he said and corrected himself, "What does that have to do with friends?"

"You wouldn't understand Ash. Now, I am allowed to use force until you give us the information we need," said Misty while getting out her gun.

"You can shoot me all you want, Misty. No pain will equal this that I'm feeling right now," said Ash.

"Maybe, but you wont let your other friends get hurt," said Misty.

Ash knew he was cornered, so he nodded his head.

"Good, Now how did you turn into a Pikachu?" said Misty.

"I, um, fell into a hole. Then I, um, just turned into a Pikachu," lied Ash.

"That's it?" asked Misty.

"Um, Yep. I fell and when I came out, I was a Pikachu. We're not real sure how it happened," said Ash, stretching the truth.

"Hm. Well, I don't believe you. So now tell the truth!" said Misty, starting to get angry again.

"Okay! I fell into the hole and met a guy named Artemis. Then he got this potion and turned me into a Pikachu," said Ash.

"Artemis?" asked Misty.

"Yep, that's what he said he name was," said Ash.

Misty considered about it, then looked at Ash again.

"I don't believe you."

"But, Misty! I'm telling the truth!" said Ash.

"Right, Ash. You just met a guy and he turned you into a Pikachu. Do you know how believable that story is, Ash?"

"But, Mis-," started Ash, but Misty wacked Ash with the back of her gun, sending him to the end of the room.

Ash looked at Misty with disbelief, and she turned around, heading for the door.

_He just won't talk. He hasn't changed a bit either, _said a voice in Ash's head. _That was Misty's voice, but she wasn't talking. Weird, _thought Ash.

Misty opened the unnoticeable door and walked out and closed it. Then there was a small click noise.

_What have they done to you, Misty? _Thought Ash in his head.

That same voice popped up in Ash's head again saying, _What the?... What was that? That sounded like Ash's voice. Man, I must have drank too much HDQ_.

_HDQ? What's that?_

_Huh? That was Ash's voice again! _Ash heard some shouting outside his room. Misty was shouting at however it was that was talking to her.

_What are you doing, Misty? _Thought Ash.

"Who is saying that?!" shouted Misty outside of Ash's room.

_Man, it takes you that long to think._

"Whoever is saying that, I am going to hurt you so badly!" said Misty.

_Misty! Talk in your head! _Said Ash through his head.

_I'm going to kill whoever is doing this to me! _Said Misty through her head.

_It's me, Ash!_

_Now they're trying to make me look crazy._

_No, Misty! It's really me!_

_That's impossible! I locked Ash up in The Room. He can't be talking to me._

_I'll prove it to you, you used to be a gym leader, always loved water Pokemon, and I still owe you a bike._

_Not good enough._

_Okay, um... Every time Brock saw a girl, he always fell in love with her._

_Oh, is that the way it is? I'm not pretty enough for him? I see how it is! It's like every other girl that either of you two see seams to be more prettier tha-._

Then Misty understood.

_Ash?_

_Finally you get it._

_How is this possible?_

_You know about as much as I do. Now, why did you join Team Agua?_

_I told you, you would never understand._

_Look, you can tell me through your mind, (apparently) so nobody else can hear us. Just please, Misty! We've been friends for years, but it seems like it has been forever sense we last met._

There was a long silence. Then, the door to Ash's room opened, and in stepped Misty.

It did seem like forever when they last met. A few seconds before, he was too busy thinking about why Misty joined Team Agua than to realize how she looked. She seemed different somehow. Well, she was in Team Agua and was wearing their uniform, but that wasn't it. Ash remembered that he had this same felling with May. What was this?

Misty kneeled down to be at Ash's level.

"Ash, I'm not sure what is going on, but you have to tell us what happened to you," said Misty.

"Why would it mater?" asked Ash.

"Ash, think about it. Humans have always wanted to have new abilities. Pokemon have all those abilities, but humans just have knowledge. Pokemon can't think like humans can, so we thought, what if humans could have Pokemon abilities but still think like a human?" said Misty.

"Some Pokemon are smart. Some are smart enough to do moves themselves," said Ash.

"Not as smart as a human. Look, everyone wants power, right?" said Misty.

"Right."

"So, if there was some way to make a human obey whatever you said, your power is limited based on how many things that human could do. But, if there was a human that had the powers of a Pokemon, that power is enormous to the person that controls him," said Misty.

It all made sense now(Sort of). Accept why Artemis did this in the first place. Wait.

"If you wonted people to become Pokemon, why don't you just go to that witch we met a long time ago?" asked Ash.

"She made it only temporary. Lasted about one day, remember?" said Misty.

_Wait, it's been more than one day, but I thought it was two or three days._

"It was one day, I remember it like yesterday," said Misty, hearing Ash's thoughts.

"Maybe it takes a little longer for this to wear off," said Ash.

"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, Ash, you have to tell us how turned into a Pikachu," said Misty.

_Just roll with it, Ash_, said Misty through her mind.

Misty got out her gun again. Ash watched her load her gun with gray bullets. Ash noticed that she had her back to the camera.

"I will have to shoot you if you don't tell me," said Misty, raising up her gun's barrel to Ash's level.

_These bullets won't kill you, Ash_, said Misty through her mind. _You have to trust me._

"I did tell you, a guy named Artemis turned me into this," said Ash, playing along.

"Fine, I'll give you to the count of three to tell me the truth," said Misty.

_Do you trust me? _said Misty to Ash through her mind.

"One."

Ash thought about it. He did trust her... before she was in Team Agua.

"Two."

_Do you trust me?_

Ash thought a little longer. _Yes. I trust you, Misty._

"Three."

BANG! Ash fell onto the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

Inner Strength part 3

Darkness. Complete darkness. No light.

_Am I dead? _Thought Ash. He could see himself, but everything else was covered with complete darkness.

Ash remembered Misty shooting him. _Did she send me here?_

"Hello, Ash," said a familiar voice.

Ash looked for where the sound came from. He looked behind him and saw Artemis.

The darkness covered everything, but Ash could still see himself and Artemis. Artemis was still wearing his black cloak and the hood over his head, so Ash still couldn't see his face.

"How are you today?" said Artemis.

"Not doing so good, thanks to you. Did you bring me here? Where am I?" asked Ash.

"This is my mind," said Artemis.

"How did I get here?" asked Ash.

"When you are asleep, I can bring you into my mind, so I can talk to you," said Artemis.

"I'm asleep? Did Misty make me go to sleep?" asked Ash.

"I don't know, all I know is that you are asleep," said Artemis.

"Um, okay...Why is so dark in here?" asked Ash

"I don't want you to see any of my personal thoughts without my permission, so I covered them with darkness. I will ask you questions every now and then, so I can record all the data," said Artemis.

_So, he's still experimenting on me! I'll show him!_ Thought Ash.

Ash ran towards Artemis and did a quick attack at him, but Artemis disappeared.

"You can't hurt me that easily," said Artemis from behind Ash.

Ash did a 180 turn and saw that Artemis somehow reappeared behind him.

"This is my mind, my world. I control everything. Now, let me ask you some of my questions," said Artemis.

"Hey, I'm not going to tell you anything! Besides, I have some questions for you too," said Ash.

Artemis looked at him, as if pondering what to do next, then nodded.

"Okay, fine. You ask me some questions and I'll ask you some questions, deal?" said Artemis.

"Deal."

"What is your first question?"

Ash thought for a while. So many questions, which to pick?

Then, Ash thought about Misty. "They have my Inner Strength," those words flashed into his head.

"What is Inner Strength?" asked Ash.

Artemis was shocked at Ash's question.

"Where did you hear that from?" asked Artemis.

"Hey, I ask the questions first, then you," said Ash.

"Right. Well, Inner Strength is the strength that is inside your heart or your soul," explained Artemis.

"And?"

"It's all the unique abilities, feelings, strengths, weaknesses, and everything else that makes someone unique."

Ash thought for a while. _It still doesn't make sense._ Thought Ash.

"What doesn't make sense?" asked Artemis.

Ash was stunned. _I can talk to your mind too?_

"First of all, you're in my mind, second, yes," said Artemis.

Ash was getting confused. _Okay, one question at a time._

"It still doesn't make sense," said Ash.

"What?" said Artemis.

"How can someone be forced to do something bad with Inner Strength?" asked Ash.

"How did this 'someone' say it?" asked Artemis.

"She said that she had to join a evil group because they had her Inner Strength."

"Well... There are many different theories of Inner Strength. The one she must be talking about is when your Inner Strength is an object. Something you can hold and touch...and control."

Ash didn't like where this was going.

"You see, with this theory, someone could somehow take someone's Inner Strength and use it to control them," explained Artemis.

"How?"

"Well, Inner Strength is all the stuff that makes someone unique, so if someone took that away from someone else somehow, than they have to obey whatever they say. If that person destroys that Inner Strength, than the person that got their Inner Strength destroyed will no longer be him or herself."

Ash was confused.

"Here's an example," said Artemis.

Some of the darkness moved away from one spot to reveal a video of two people. One was a man wearing a red shirt and the other was a man wearing a yellow shirt.

"That man in the yellow gets his Inner Strength taken away by the man in the red," said Artemis while pointing at the video as if it was a business slide show.

The man in the red grabbed the man in the yellow in the stomach and pulled out a small, bright, purple ball from the man.

"I don't know exactly what Inner Strength looks like, so I just made it up. Anyway, the man in the yellow now has to beg the man in the red not to hurt his Inner Strength in any way," said Artemis.

The man in the yellow dropped to his knees and started to plead to the man in the red to not harm his Inner Strength.

"Usually, if this was possible, the person with the upper hand (the man in the red) will make the person that he took the Inner Strength away (the man in the yellow) to do various tasks. If he doesn't obey than..."

The video showed the man in red squeeze the man in yellow's Inner Strength until it was destroyed. The man in yellow suddenly stood up and didn't move a muscle.

"When someone no longer has an Inner Strength, than-,"

"They're dead?" interrupted Ash.

"No, worse. They can't do anything, can't think, can't talk, can't move, can't even eat, but they're still alive. They just won't do anything, lifeless, but not dead. Their body is still alive, but it's like they no longer have a soul," explained Artemis.

Now it made sense. Team Agua must have found a way to take Misty's Inner Strength out and force her to do stuff.

The darkness then covered the video.

"Of course, the Inner Strength can only stay out for a little while. If it is outside of the body for too long, than it will destroy itself, and when there no longer is Inner Strength in the body, it will die too, from starvation or thirst," said Artemis.

"How come this 'theory' sounds so accurate?" asked Ash.

Artemis chuckled.

"Experimenting. Lots and lots of experimenting."

It hit Ash. _Am I not the only one experimented on?_ Thought Ash.

"No, but you are the first human that was experimented on," said Artemis.

"Last question, how is it that I can talk to other people's minds?" asked Ash.

Artemis stared at Ash. _Boy, you ask a lot of questions, _said Artemis' voice inside of Ash's head.

"When you engulfed the fumes of my potion, it (or, I should say myself) gave you different abilities. One of them is to speak telepathically," explained Artemis.

"I couldn't talk to my other friends through my mind, I could only talk to Misty and you, and what 'different abilities'?" asked Ash.

"You said 'last question'," said Artemis.

Ash still wanted more answers, but it'll have to wait.

"You can only talk to people through your mind if you have a lot of feelings towards them," said Artemis.

"You mean like loving them?" asked Ash, an image of himself loving Artemis popped in his head. Eww.

"Yes and no. I said 'a lot of feelings', that means that you could love them, but you have to have more feelings towards them."

"I don't have any feelings towards you," said Ash.

Artemis slightly shook his head.

"You wonder who I am, you dislike me for what I did to you, you wonder why I did that to you, and other feelings. It doesn't have to be just love or friendship," said Artemis.

Ash thought about Misty. _What feelings do I have for her? Could all those weird emotions be one of them?_ Wondered Ash.

"Okay, Ash. Now it's my turn to ask the questions," said Artemis.

Artemis was about to ask his first question when Ash noticed that his finger was fading away.

"No! Wait!" shouted Artemis at Ash.

Ash was getting a little scared. Why was he fading? Both of his hands had disappeared by now.

"What's going on? Why am I fading?" said Ash.

"You're waking up. I ges I'll ask you my questions the next time you are asleep," said Artemis.

Ash's arms and legs faded away.

"Will this happen the next time we meet?" asked Ash.

Ash's body faded away.

"Yes. See you later, Ash," said Artemis.

Ash was gone.

"Wake him up."

Ash's eyes were still closed, but he could hear that other people were around him.

Then he felt some water poured on his face. Ash started to choke on the sudden water-in-his-lungs.

When he was done choking on the water, he opened his eyes. He was in a very large, rubber room that had a wide window on the top of the (what looks like) 100ft wall. Behind the window where some people in white lab coats and some in the Team Agua uniform.

"Now you are awake!" said someone from behind the window.

"What do you want now?" asked Ash, annoyed.

"Well, we need to punish you for trying to escape," said the man.

Trying to escape? _I don't like this._

"I didn't try to escape! And how are you talking through that glass?" said Ash.

"IHM, that's Invisible Hearing Microphone. Now don't play stupid with me! You tried to escape while taking a hostage!" said the man.

"What hostage?" asked Ash.

The man sighed, turned around, and talked to someone that Ash couldn't see at his angle. The man beckoned someone, and there was Misty again.

"This young lady told us everything, how you held her hostage, how you escape, everything. We even have other witnesses that saw you holding her hostage!" said the man.

Ash was shocked. He thought that Misty would help him, not make everything worse. Ash used his mind talking ability to Misty to find out what's really happening.

_Misty, what happened? I trusted you! What did you do?!_ Thought Ash.

_You have to trust me a little longer, Ash, _said Misty through her head.

Ash was starting to lose his trust completely with Misty. How could you be sure with someone that joined with your enemy and backstabbed you?

"So, now. For punishment, we'll do some experiments on you," said the man.

_Why does everyone want to experiment on me?_ Thought Ash.

"First experiment: knowledge and carful thinking," said the man and pressed a button.

Now Ash found out why this room was so big. A giant wall came out of the ground, centimeters from Ash's nose, and grew up towards the roof. The wall kept growing upwards until it was about two feet taller than Ash.

"Get through this maze as fast as you can," said the man.

"What if I don't?" asked Ash.

Then, Ash had a massive headache and screamed from the pain. It felt like someone was slowly cutting his brain with a rusty knife. Then, the pain stopped.

"Then that will happen," said the man."You see, here in front of me, I have some buttons numbered one to twenty. What you felt is a three."

Ash recovered enough to talk.

"How are you doing that?" asked Ash.

"While you where asleep, we inserted a one inch by two inch microchip into your brain from your forehead," explained the man.

Ash felt his forehead to see if the man was telling the truth. He felt something small and metal on his forehead. Ash tried to pull it off, but it was impossible.

The man behind the window saw Ash try to pull off the microchip.

"You can't just pull it off. It's inside your head, that's just a part sticking out. Anyway, what you felt was a three, a sixteen or above could kill you, so don't temp me," said the man.

Ash looked at the man, then at the maze next to him, then at Misty.

"Ready?" said the man.

Ash got in front of the entrance of the maze. _Looks like I don't have a choice._

"Set."

At this rate, everyone is going to torture him. This was just the beginning of a chain. Ash was not liking those thoughts.

"Go!"

Hell began.

"What did we do to get here?" said May.

After being thrown in jail for no reason, May, Brock, Max, Pikachu, and Misty II were having some difficulties.

"It seems that Team Agua framed us for stealing the Pokemon that they tried to steal," said Max.

"Don't we get a trail or something?" asked May.

Brock shook his head.

"I've asked already, they said that our trail will come in about a year," said Brock.

"A year?! I can't wait a whole year! Ash was captured! In a year he could be dead!" said May, turning red from anger.

"Pika pikachu!" cried Misty II after hearing Ash's name.

"Calm down, May. We'll find a way out, we just have to be patient, and try to not get Misty II upset," said Max.

May took a few deep breaths to calm down, but it was no use and shook her head, teary-eyed.

"I can't calm down in this kind of place! I just wish someone would help us escape!" said May, crying.

Then, a officer came by their prison cell while holding a hand cuffed Team Rocket. The officer pushed James, Jessie, and Meouth into the cell with the others.

"Ow!" said all three at once when they were pushed to the ground.

"Team Rocket?" said all three "twerps".

"Pikachu?" said both Pikachues.

The officer then locked the bars to the cell.

"There you go!" said the officer while locking the bars.

When the officer was done locking the bars, another officer came by to look.

"Wow, Team Rocket! I've heard of them, but never seen them! How did you catch them?" asked the second officer.

"Well, we found them scamming some five-year-olds to steal their Pokemon, then we recognized them from all the wanted posters we've seen," said the first officer.

Then, both officers walked away while talking about the capture of Team Rocket.

"So, you were trying to steal from five-year-olds?" said May.

Jessie groaned.

"Why did we have to be stuck with these twerps even in prison?!" said Jessie.

"I knew they would come to the dark side!" said James.

Jessie was about to slap James for such a stupid remark, but then started to consider.

"Why are all of you in here? Wait, where's the twerp with the hat?" asked Jessie.

"Why should we tell you?" asked Max.

"Because, we know how to get out of here!" said Meouth.

The "twerps" looked at each other, then at Team Rocket.

"You do?" asked Brock.

"We d-?" started James, but was slapped by Jessie.

"Of course we do, but you have to tell how you got in here," said Jessie.

Brock started to think about it, but thought of something better.

"How are you going to get us out of here if we do tell you?" asked Brock.

"Um...well...," said Jessie.

"When dinner gets her, we'll use the spoons to tunnel our way out!" said James, but was (once again) slapped for it by Jessie.

"That's the stupidest idea I ever heard!" shouted Jessie at James.

"I'm sorry," whimpered James.

Brock lowered and shook his head.

"So, you don't know," said Brock.

"Pikachu," said the worried Misty II.

Team Rocket looked at each other and shook their heads.

"I might know how," said someone.

Ash couldn't take this any longer.

So far, Ash has gotten into the middle of the fourth maze. He had cuts and bruises all over his body and his head couldn't think strait because of the microchip turning on every time he slowed down or stopped to rest.

All these mazes had traps in them. If you came into a dead end, a mechanical arm would punch or slice you, or the floor would heat up or cool down rapidly.

Every time Ash asked for some water after he was done with a maze, they would just give him salt water...on the floor. Sometimes, Ash would get so thirsty that he would go ahead and drink the salt water, but because of it, he has thrown up twice.

So there was Ash, dehydrated, hungry, bruises and cuts everywhere on his body, blood dripping everywhere around his whole body, feet becoming raw from all the endless running, brain felt like it was scrambled eggs (I'm not sure if he has ever even eaten eggs, but that's the best alliteration I can think of), and the ache in his heart about Misty.

Left?

Right?

Right.

Another fork.

Left. Dead end.

Ash ducked from the mechanical arm that swung a blade at him. _Not that way_, thought Ash.

He turned around, went the other direction, and found the exit.

"You did that in five minutes, forty seconds, and seventy milliseconds. That's exactly ten seconds faster than last time. Congratulations," said the man, not really enthusiastic about what he said.

While the maze sank back into the ground, Ash was taking the only rest he was allowed to take.

"Can I...huff... take a brake...puff... for a while?" breathed Ash.

"Okay, fine. You get a brake until we're done analyzing your data and done making the next experiment for you to take," said the man.

Ash took slow, deep breaths and looked at his wounds. They looked pretty bad. Ash remembered that he read somewhere that a bleeding wound needs to be bandaged and cleaned. These people surly didn't care for his wounds.

Then, it hit Ash. These weren't experiments, they where entertainment for everyone that wanted to see him get hurt. Team Agua did hate Ash for ruining their plains before, maybe this was revenge?

_Ash_, said a voice in his head.

Ash was surprised Misty would talk to him now.

_What, Misty? How else do you want to torture me? _Said Ash.

_Look, I didn't want this to happen. I had no choice_, said Misty.

_Right_, thought Ash.

_Really! Ash, just please listen_, said Misty.

Ash sighed and went quiet.

_Okay, here's what happened: after I knocked you out I-_

_Wait, why did you knock me out?_ Interrupted Ash.

_I did that because if you where awake, the sensors would sense your body heat_, said Misty.

Ash scratched his head.

_What?_ He asked, his head still hurt from all the killer headaches from his microchip.

Misty sighed.

_Didn't you learn anything when you were at school or on our adventure?_ Asked Misty.

_Hey! You try to run nonstop while getting beat up and getting killer headaches and still be able to think strait!_ said Ash.

Misty considered it.

_When you are asleep, your heart beat slows down, which slows down your blood speed_, explained Misty.

_And that does?_ Asked Ash.

_Heat happens when molecules move fast, so, if your blood moves slower..._

_Okay, I get it. Where did you learn all this?_ Asked Ash.

_We have to train to be a part of Team Agua_, explained Misty.

Ash's breathing was starting to slow down and his head started to heal, so he was able to think a little better now.

_Okay, now I understand. Go on_, said Ash.

_After I knocked you out, I tried to get you out, but I was almost seen by someone_, said Misty.

_Wait, if there where sensors, wouldn't it matter about your body heat?_ Asked Ash.

_I work here, Ash. They would know why I was walking around_, said Misty.

_Then why would it matter if someone saw you?_ Asked Ash.

_Let me finish! _Said Misty.

Ash's breathing had gone to normal by now and he could think much better.

_If they saw me holding you, then I would get busted for sure. So, I made it to were it looked like you where kidnaping me_, explained Misty.

_Couldn't you hide me or both of us instead?_ Asked Ash.

_No_, said Misty.

Ash was still mad at Misty for stabbing him in the back...twice!

_Look_, said Misty._ I know you're mad, and I would be too, but if I got busted for trying to get you out...then...then._

_Look, I know everything about Inner Strength_, said Ash.

There was a pause. Misty must have been confused.

_It's a long story, but I understood it. So, why didn't you tell me?_ Asked Ash.

Right when it seemed that Misty was going to explain, the man behind the window started talking.

"Okay, brake's over! Now, for the next experiment. Lucky for you, it's not another maze," said the man.

Ash gave a sigh of relief.

"We want to know how well you fight in combat, so we're going to make you fight a trainer," said the man.

_I have to fight now? I have cuts and bruises everywhere! Plus, I only know one move! How am I supposed to fight?_ Thought Ash.

As soon as Ash said that, he looked at himself. All the places that where bruised or cut was already starting to heal. That cut that was across his chest, it now looked like a tiny scratch. That bruise that was on his foot (it was about three inches in diameter, give or take), was now a little purple dot on his toe.

Ash then remembered what Artemis said about more abilities.

_Could this be one of them? Heal faster than normal?_ Thought Ash.

He didn't have much time to think, because a blue light caught his attention. It was on the wall, close to the floor, but beneath the window. The light went up, leaving a trail behind it, and split into two. One went to the right, and went towards the ground, while the other went to the left, and went towards the ground. When the light disappeared, Ash saw that it had mad a set of double doors.

Was he supposed to go in it?

Was he supposed to wait?

Apparently, he was supposed to wait, for a guy came out from behind the doors. He wore the Team Agua uniform, but with a blue hood over his face.

_Why is there always a hood?_ Thought Ash.

The guy walked up to Ash.

"Remember me?" said the guy.

The guy raised his arm at Ash's face for him to see.

There was no human arm, but a metal arm.

Then, Ash remembered who this guy was.

"Ray."

"Who are you?" asked May.

There was a man with dark red clothes and brown hair standing before the bars.

"I'm the one that's going to help you, along with some other people."

"How are you going to help us?" asked Jessie.

The man raised his arm to reveal an arm band...with the Team Magma's symbol.

May gasped.

"What is Team Magma doing here?" asked May.

"Like I said, here to get you all out of this prison," said the Team Magma man.

"I could finally get you guys caught! Officers! Officers! Look, it's Team Magma!" shouted May to where she last saw the officers.

"They can't hear you," said the Team Magma man.

"Fine, what do you want?" asked Max.

"I said before, I want to get you guys out of here," said the Team Magma man.

Brock didn't like this. It smelled like a trap.

"What's the catch?" asked Brock.

The Team Magma man raised an eye brow.

"What catch?" he asked.

"It works for all you bad guy teams, you never do anything for free," said Brock.

The Team Magma man chuckled.

"Okay, you got me. I'll get you out if you all join Team Magma," said the Team Magma man.

That caused a ruckus. May, Brock, Max, Pikachu, Misty II, Jessie, James, and Meouth were all saying that they would never join Team Magma.

"We would never betray Team Rocket!" said Jessie.

"They never did like us anyway," muttered James to himself, but was slapped by Jessie for it.

"Would Team Rocket help you get out of a prison?" asked the Team Magma man.

James, Jessie, and Meouth looked at each other to consider it. Obviously, the rest of Team Rocket wouldn't help them.

"Hey, wait. Why would Team Magma want to help us?" asked Brock.

"We now share the same enemy, Team Agua. Plus, I do believe they have a friend of yours held captive," said the Team Magma.

Now, everyone was listing carefully and considering anything.

"How do you know about that?" asked May.

"Team Agua may have the best technology...for now, but we have the best spy equipment. After all, 'keep your friends close, but your enemies closer'," said the Team Magma.

"Wait, if you have been spying on Team Agua, than do you know if Ash is okay?" asked May, panicky.

The Team Magma man shook his head.

"I'm not allowed to give that kind of information to non-members," said the Team Magma man, smiling.

May was very worried about Ash and want to get him out of Team Agua's hands, whether it meant joining Team Magma. But, was it worth it? Should she join? Would Team Magma really help them save Ash?

"Pikachu," said Misty II.

"Not know, Misty, I have to make the important decision that I've ever made," said May.

"Pikachu!" said Misty II while tugging May's skirt.

May looked down at Misty II. This is the worst time to go to the bathroom or get food or whatever it was that she needed.

"What do you choose?" asked the Team Magma man.

"Hold on for a second," said May while still looking at Misty II.

Then, May noticed that there was something different about Misty II.

"Pikachu!!" said Misty II even louder while pulling May's skirt a little harder.

Everyone looked at the female Pikachu and wondered what she would want at a time like this.

"I think your Pikachu needs something," said the Team Magma man.

Something was still tugging in May's head about something different about Misty II. What was it? Was her pink bow crooked?

No.

Something about her stomach.

"PIKACHU!!!" shouted Misty II at the top of her lungs and almost tore off a piece May's skirt.

"What wrong with her?" asked Jessie.

"Isn't that the Pikachu we've been trying to get?" asked James.

"No, this one has a pink bow on her head. The one we've been after is right there," said Meouth while pointing at Ash's Pikachu.

"Should we take it?" whispered James.

"To where? We're in prison!" said Jessie and slapped James on the head.

Then, water, from Misty II's bottom, fell onto the ground.

May knew what it was.

"SHE'S HAVING A BABY!"


	4. Chapter 4

Inner Strength part 4

**Before I start this chapter, I would just like to say that in this story, Pikachues, are mammals, so they don't lay eggs, and I'm sorry that this took so long. Thank you for your time. Enjoy the chapter!**

Ray took off his hood.

"So, you do remember me," said Ray.

Ash looked at Ray's new mechanical arm. It looked just like the human bone structure, just metal and no open gaps. Every time Ray moved his metal arm, you could hear the gears moving and twisting to move to the right position.

Then, Ash remembered that Misty II had cut off his hand, not his whole arm.

Ray saw Ash looking at his new arm.

"Like it? Thanks to you and your Pikachu girl friend, I get to keep this baby! They had to take off my whole arm because it was already infected, but, the more the merrier," said Ray.

Ray flexed his new arm out to show Ash a little more detail, then, he brought up his metal fist and slammed it to the ground. When he picked up his fist, he had left a six inch deep and seven inches in diameter hole in the rubber.

Ash couldn't move.

"That's not all, check out what else it can do!" said Ray.

Ray pointed his finger to the wall next to Ash. His finger began to turn blue, then shot out a blue beam of light towards the wall. Just like one of their guns do.

"This one can even hold more than two bullets!" said Ray.

"H-h-how w-were you able t-to d-d-do that?" asked Ash, shaking and surprised that he was even able to talk.

Ray saw Ash's fear and found it amusing.

"This new arm of mine is connected to my nervous system. So, all I have to do is think of moving my arm and point and think of shooting a gun, and it shoots. Easy, right?" said Ray.

"Yes, but, how could you just put in a metal arm like that? We don't have that kind of technology," said Ash, starting to get past his fear.

"Maybe not you, but we do! We've stolen all kinds of scientists from across the globe! Our technology is about five years ahead of yours," said Ray.

Then, the man from behind the window spoke into his IHM.

"Um, Ray, we need to make sure that the experiment doesn't know too much information," said the man.

"Oops," said Ray.

"Just hurry up and start the battle," said the man.

* * *

"How could she be having a baby?" said the confused Max.

In the prison cell, everyone was freaking out because Misty II's water just broke and she could have a baby at any moment.

"We need to go to a Pokecenter, right now!" said Brock.

"Wait, you're a Pokemon breeder, right Brock? So, don't you know what to do?" asked Max.

"Yes I am, but I never got to study Pikachues," said Brock while picking up Misty II.

The Team Magma man was still outside of their prison cell, waiting for their answer.

"Will you join or not?" asked the Team Magma man.

"Can't you see that we're doing something here?" said May.

"I can take you to a Pokecenter if you join." said the Team Magma man.

May didn't know what to do. Brock was now cradling Misty II, Max was trying to help Brock, Pikachu was trying to calm Misty II down, and Team Rocket was...having a meeting? They where bunched up in one corner of the cell, talking to each other. May just looked away, don't have enough time to think about that now.

"Well?" asked the Team Magma man.

May kept thinking, _what would Ash do in a time like this? _Team Magma could help get Ash back, for Team Aqua is their enemy, but what would happen after that?

Steal Pokemon?

Steal money?

Misty II was shouting even louder now, she must be in real pain. Pikachu was still by her, talking to her, trying to calm her down.

"If that female Pikachu doesn't go to a Pokecenter soon, then she and the baby will die," said the Team Magma man.

_I hope that I don't regret this! _Thought May.

"Okay...We'll join."

* * *

"This is going to be fun!" said Ray.

Ray pointed his mechanical wrist outwards and out popped a small Pokeball from his wrist. He pressed the white button to change the Pokeball to normal size.

Ash was shocked again at Ray's new arm. Ray saw his emotion in his face.

"Cool, huh? This can also carry up to six Pokeballs at a time! If you add that with a belt full of Pokeballs, then..." said Ray, but Ash got the pitcher.

Ray then threw the ball onto the ground to release a Tedyursa. (Look, if I spelled this Pokemon's name wrong, then I'm sorry. There are so many hard-to-spell Pokemon names out there. Go on, sue me.)

Ash wondered why Ray would chose this kind of Pokemon, but as he has learned before, never underestimate your opponent.

"Tedyursa, show this loser how hard your focus punch is!" said Ray.

Tedyursa ran up to Ash while holding up his fist. The fist started to glow untill it landed on Ash's face.

Ash was sent flying.

THUD! Ash hit the wall. Ash staggered up to his feet and wiped the blood off his face were the Tedyursa hit him.

_That's one powerful punch, another hit like that could knock me out_, thought Ash.

"Come, on! Show me what you got!" shouted Ray to Ash.

_Okay, Ash_, Ash thought to himself._ It's just like whenever you use your Pokemon in a battle...just that you are the Pokemon._

Ash looked hard at the Teddyursa, then he did a quick attack at him. The Teddyursa took the hit without moving or showing any pain.

"Is that all you have? That move just made this teddy bear madder! Don't you have any other moves?" asked Ray.

Ash thought hard, _Okay, you only know one move, you were already beaten up by all the mazes, and your running out of energy. Plus, you're hungry and thirsty. What can you do?_

Nothing.

That word popped into Ash's head.

Nothing, he can't do anything right now.

"Teddyursa, confuse!" commanded Ray to his Pokemon.

Teddyursa's eyes started to light up. Then, Ash didn't know what he was doing.

Now there were four Teddyursas in front of Ash. Ash tried to do another quick attack on one of them, but just to find out that he had hit a wall.

_Think strait, Ash_, Ash thought to himself.

"Teddyursa, finish him with a focus punch. Man, this was too easy," said Ray.

Teddyursa started to run towards Ash with his fist raised, again.

Ash couldn't do anything, he just had to take the hit.

Teddyursa's fist was glowing again as he got closer to Ash.

_I can't just quit_, thought Ash. _But then, what else could I do?_

Teddyursa was about two feet away from Ash.

"Wait." said the man from behind the window.

* * *

"Good choice," said the Team Magma man to May.

He opened the cell bars and beckoned them to come out.

"That's it?" asked May.

"You wanted to get out, right?" said the Team Magma man.

May didn't trust him, it was just too easy.

"Hurry, May!" said Brock as he stormed out of the prison while still holding the screaming in pain, Misty II.

"Where are all the officers?" asked Max.

"Who cares? We're out!" shouted James.

The Team Magma man led them out of the jail and to the town it was in.

"The nearest Pokecenter is two blocks north and one block west," said the Team Magma man.

"That can't be all there is to it...can it?" asked May.

The Team Magma member looked at May.

"We'll call you. Just remember...we had a deal," said the Team Magma man.

Then, he got out a Pokeball.

"Wheezing, smoke screen!" commanded the Team Magma man while releasing his Pokemon.

The Wheezing came out and shot out some thick smoke from all the holes on its body. When the smoke cleared, the Team Magma man vanished.

"Where did he go?" asked May.

"No time, hurry!" said Brock and ran as fast as his legs would let him to the Pokecenter.

* * *

Ray looked at the man behind the window.

"What is it, Bob?" asked Ray.

"We're picking up something," said Bob.

"Then why did you stop me from finishing this weakling?" asked Ray, getting angry for not being able to finish his battle.

Teddyursa's fist was inches away from Ash's nose. It was just close enough that Ash could actually feel the energy from the glowing fist.

"Hold on for one second! We just need to find out what this is," said Bob.

"Well, hurry up!" shouted Ray.

Bob looked at his computer. It was showing that there was another person with Experiment 102's DNA. That is impossible.

Bob typed in LOCATE and waited. The computer started to bring up random numbers, then pulled out a location.

Bob looked at it, it seems it was near the prison where they had stuffed Experiment 102's friends in. Strange.

He typed the hacking code to get into the prison's computer data and looked for the surveillance video recordings in 102's friend's cell. A video popped up, showing everyone trying to get out. Bob watched as Team Rocket was thrown in.

"Hurry it up!" shouted Ray, getting impatient.

Bob ignored him and kept watching the video. Bob started to get curious when he saw everyone talking to someone. The camera was made to only watch the prisoners inside, not out.

Bob watched as everyone talked to someone outside the prison bars, then talk some more, then the female Pikachu's water broke, then...

"Play back," said Bob to the computer.

It rewound back to the part when the female Pikachu's water broke.

"Hm, maybe," said Bob to himself.

Ray was getting really impatient.

"You done yet?!" shouted Ray.

"We're going to have to delay the match, Ray," said Bob.

"Why?" asked Ray after being so thrilled to get revenge.

"This little guy is going to become a father," said Bob.

For a split second, Ash forgot that an almost life threatening punch was inches away from his head and wondered what Bob meant.

"What?" asked Ray.

"Experiment 102 is going to become a father," repeated Bob.

_So, I'm Experiment 102, huh?_ thought Ash.

"So?" said Ray.

Bob shook his head, why did he have to deal with these people?

"He has human and Pikachu DNA. So, if there was a Pokemon with 3/4 Pikachu DNA and 1/4 human DNA, what would the Pokemon be like?" said Bob to Ray.

"Oh."

Bob shook his head again and looked at Ash and the Teddyursa.

"Teddyursa, please back away," said Bob.

The Teddyursa did so and Ash was able to breathe again.

"You are one lucky fella'. Sense you get to have a baby, we'll bring you to its mother," said Bob.

"That's too easy, what's the catch?" asked Ash.

"You just help the mother have her baby, and we'll give you something nice," said Bob.

Ash didn't like it. Usually, Team Aqua wouldn't let people out so easily.

Before Ash could really think about it, a blue circle appeared around Ash.

"What the?" said Ash.

"Don't worry. That is just a long range teleporter," said Bob.

_Their technology is so advanced! It's probably from all those scientists they kidnaped_, thought Ash.

The blue circle raised up, and made a transparent, blue cylinder with Ash in it.

"One more thing, the teleportation might give you a little sting," said Bob.

_They've cut, bruised, burned, and even gave me frost bites. I don't think a little sting will do much_, thought Ash.

The transparent, blue cylinder then filled up with some blue smoke and engulfed Ash. He could feel the energy that was flowing through the smoke grab him. That must be the stuff that makes it work.

The smoke started to brighten up...brighter...brighter... and BANG! Ash was gone.

* * *

"Hang on, Misty II. We're almost there!" said Brock to the pregnant Pikachu.

May and Max were running right behind Brock, trying to catch up.

"He said, 'One block west.'" shouted May to Brock to tell him which way to go.

"Got it!" said Brock and turned west.

May's lungs were burning, apparently, one block felt like two miles here, and they ran the whole way. Max was starting to slow down because he was getting tired.

"There it is!" said Brock while pointing to the Pokecenter.

After about two minuets of sprinting, Brock burst through the door and strait to Nurse Joy.

"Hello, how may I help you?" asked Nurse Joy.

"Could you please...please..." started Brock but was mesmerized (once again) by Nurse Joy's beauty.

"Please what?" asked Nurse Joy.

"Please be my girlfriend," said Brock, starting to daydream about them dating.

"Um... Is that Pikachu pregnant?" asked Nurse Joy, trying to find anything else to talk about.

May and Max burst through the door and ran to Nurse Joy, breathing hard.

"Nurse... huff...Joy...puff... that...huff...Pikachu...puff... is about...huff...to have...puff... a baby," breathed May.

Max looked at Brock and noticed that he was in La-la Land with Nurse Joy. Max then grabbed Brock's ear and pulled on it hard enough for Brock to come back to Earth.

"Ow! No, wait! I love you!" said Brock as he was pulled away.

May grabbed Misty II out from Brock's arms as Max did his job.

"This Pikachu needs help right now! She's having a baby," said May after she got her breath.

"I can see that, it's just that the man said-,"

"Ignore him, I just need your help, please!"

Nurse Joy nodded her head and took Misty II. A Chancy came over and brought a bed with wheels for Misty II to lay on. Nurse Joy laid Misty II on the bed, then let Chancy take her to the emergency room.

"Who is the father?" asked Nurse Joy.

"Um, he's not here right now," said May.

"Well, you better find him quick," said Nurse Joy.

"Why?" asked Max.

Nurse Joy looked back at the door to the emergency room.

"Because, without the father, the mother and the child will die," said Nurse Joy, solemnly.

Max and May looked at each other. It was never too easy in this world.

"How?" asked Max.

"Well, we can't really explain it. There is no scientific answer, it's an emotional thing. The female Pikachu will lose all hope of giving birth if her mate isn't with her and wont give berth, and if the baby doesn't come out, the mother and the baby will die," explained Nurse Joy.

That wasn't good news.

* * *

At about one mile away from the Pokecenter, Ash reappeared. Some of the blue smoke was still on him, but it slowly drifted away.

"Ow," was all Ash could say after the intense pain he had to go through just to get here.

_So much for, 'a little sting'_, thought Ash.

Ash tried to shake it off, then looked around. He was in a city's outskirts, not too far from a Pokecenter.

_Wait, a Pokecenter! That must be where Misty II is!_ Thought Ash.

Then, Ash started to wonder if the microchip was still on his head. He felt his head with his hands.

And there it was.

A small, hard, metal thing on his head. Ash started to wonder if Team Aqua could still give him a killer headache.

He felt it a little more, felt the smooth edges, the bumps on the top, the round button in the middle, the-

Wait, a button? Ash wondered what the button will do.

Will it give him another headache?

Will it teleport him back to Team Aqua's base?

Curiosity over took Ash and he pressed the button.

"AH!" shouted Ash in pain.

It felt like his life was being sucked out of him and into the microchip. Ash wanted it to stop, but the pain made it to where he couldn't move.

His head burned and his body became numb. Then, a yellow, powerful beam came out of the microchip and into the sky.

After a few seconds of watching the beam travel into the sky, Ash fainted.

* * *

"Okay, who's the idiot that gave Experiment 102 The Button?" asked Bob.

After watching a powerful energy beam appear on the GPS near 102's location, Bob became ferrous with whoever put The Button in 102's microchip.

"Um, I did, sir," said one of the lab assistants.

"What's your name?" asked Bob.

"Andrew."

"So, Andrew, can I ask you something?"

"Yes, sir."

If you where Andrew right now, you would know why he almost peed in his pants.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU GIVE 102 A LIFE THREATENING BUTTON?!" shouted Bob, almost spitting in Andrew's face.

"Um...well...you told me to, sir," said Andrew.

"I did not!" said Bob.

"Well, when 102 was asleep and we were inserting the microchip, you told me to put The Button in," said Andrew, shaking.

Bob shook his head and looked at this poor assistant.

"I told you to put in a microphutton, not button!" corrected Bob.

"Oh...oops," said Andrew.

Bob turned his back on Andrew and looked at the Experiment's location on the GPS.

"Now, he has a button that socks some of the energy from his Inner Strength and shoots it out like a weapon. If he keeps pressing The Button, then he'll...well not die, but...you know," said Bob.

"Should we bring him back to fix it, sir?" asked another assistant.

Bob thought about it for a while, then came to a conclusion.

"No, if we take that out, then it might mess up his brain and maybe even his Inner Strength. Besides, I want to see what he does," said Bob.

"What do you mean, sir?" asked another assistant.

Bob looked at the GPS screen with the blinking red dot, saying where 102's location is. Then, the dot started to move. It was moving towards the Pokecenter.

"Send Ray to that Pokecenter after the offspring is born, and give him the G-27 upgrade to his arm," said Bob.

* * *

"How are we supposed to get Ash?" asked May to herself.

"I don't know, May. Right now, all we can do is wait," said Brock.

"We can't just wait! Ash is with Team Aqua and who knows what they're doing to him! Plus, if he isn't here, then Misty II and the baby will die!" said May.

Brock lowered his head.

"There's no way we could find Team Aqua, May. You know that. So, for now, we have to wait," said Brock.

May was about to say something back when a kid, about 9 years old, came into the Pokecenter holding a unconscious Pikachu.

"Nurse Joy! Nurse Joy! I found this Pikachu laying on the ground," said the kid.

"Well, let me look at him," said Nurse Joy.

"I think he has the Chicken Pox," said the kid.

It did look like Chicken Pox, but when Nurse Joy felt one of the dots, she knew they weren't.

"These aren't Chicken Pox, they're scabs. Look at this one, it's too long to be a dot," said Nurse Joy.

"Then, how did he get so many?" asked the kid.

"I don't know, but they look like they're weeks old. Was there anything else with him?" asked Nurse Joy.

"Oh, ya! This hat," said the kid.

Brock, May, and Max turned around right when they heard that there was a Pikachu with a hat. May ran over to the kid.

"What hat?" asked May.

"This one," said the kid as he pulled out Ash's hat.

"That's defiantly Ash's," said Brock.

"Does this Pikachu belong to you?" asked Nurse Joy.

"Yes, and he's the father to that girl Pikachu," said Max.

Then, Nurse Joy quickly took Ash to the healing...thing (Sorry, but I don't know what it's called) healed him, then woke him up.

"W-what? What happened?" said Ash as he was waking up.

"He can talk?" said the kid, still there.

"No time to explain," said Brock.

"What's that thing on his head?" asked the kid.

"I said 'no time'!" said Brock to the kid again, shutting him up.

Nurse Joy brought Ash to the place Misty II was being held and placed him in front of her.

"Wait, what's going on? Why am I so close to Misty II? Will someone please tell me what's happening?" shouted Ash, angry that he's not getting answers.

"Your mate is having your baby," said Nurse Joy, while pushing Misty II's bed to the Pokemon Delivery Room.

"Wait, how could she be having a baby? And why am I still with her?" asked Ash.

"You're delivering the baby," said Nurse Joy.

Now they were in the Delivery Room. May, Brock, Max, and the kid were running behind Ash and Misty II to see what would happen.

While Nurse Joy was closing the doors to the Delivery Room, she told all of Ash's friends that they couldn't go in.

"Sorry, but it has to be...kind of privet," said Nurse Joy, then closed the door.

"Wait, I'm too young for this!" shouted Ash through the doors as the gang was walking away.

"Just, help her," the gang heard Nurse Joy through the doors.

Brock placed a finger to his lips and pointed at the door. May knew that meant that they could listen if they were quiet.

May and the others placed their ears on the door to listen.

"I can't do this! I'm not supposed to have a kid yet! I just woke up! I'm young for this!" shouted Ash.

May and the others silently giggled.

Apparently, it wasn't silent enough, for Nurse Joy came out and shooed them away.

Then came the waiting. The long waiting.

Hours went by.

Seconds felt like hours.

Minuets felt like days.

Hours felt like weeks.

Then, after what felt like a year, Nurse Joy came out.

"Your Pichu has been born!" said Nurse Joy.

* * *

"Sensors are indicating that the offspring has been born," said one of the scientists.

"Good. Okay, Ray. I need you to try to get back 102," said Bob.

Ray was listening while another scientist was giving him the G-27 upgrade to his arm. When the scientist was done, Ray looked at his metal arm. It looked the same.

"Why does my arm look the same after an upgrade?" asked Ray.

"It's inside your arm, but that doesn't matter right now. We need you to get Experiment 102 back," said Bob.

"I thought you let it go," said Ray.

Bob was getting aggravated at all these questions. Man, why can't they learn?

"I never just let someone or something go, you know that! Just bring it back, okay?" said Bob.

Ray raise his shoulders and nodded his head. He picked up two of his Pokeballs that were on the table and inserted them into his arm.

He was about to walk to the teleporter, but was stopped by Bob.

"Ray," said Bob.

"Yea?" asked Ray.

"Take your time when you get there, it's still getting used to everything," said Bob.

Ray looked at him, as if he was asking, "Are you serious?"

Bob didn't move, but kept looking strait into Ray's eyes.

Ray just raised his shoulders and walked into the teleporter.

* * *

"Can we see him?" asked May.

Nurse Joy nodded her head and led them to the Delivery Room in the Pokecenter.

After about two minuets, Brock, May, and Max were walking into the room where Misty II, Ash, and the new born Pichu laid.

Ash was holding his son in cradled arms while Misty II watched them on her bed. Ash looked up and saw his friends, then slowly gave his son over to the mother.

Ash jumped down and said hi to his friends.

"What was it like, Ash?" asked Max.

"Ash, did you see the head or the tail first?" asked Brock.

"Was his cord around his neck?" asked Max.

"Did he choke on anything?" asked Brock.

Max and Brock were kept asking Ash their questions even when Ash didn't have time to answer. Eventually, May was able to make them quiet.

"You just have to under stand, Ash went through a lot today. The least you two can do is give him a brake," said May to both Max and Brock.

"Um, May. Can I talk to you...alone, for a minuet?" asked Ash.

May nodded her head and Ash led her to a separate room, away from the others. When they were in, Ash closed the door.

"May...I don't think I can do this," said Ash.

"Do what, Ash?" asked May.

"Take care of this child," said Ash.

May paused, she didn't expect to hear Ash say this. She thought that having a child would be a blast, but...maybe not.

Ash looked closely into May's eyes.

"I'm not ready to take care of a baby. He would be my responsibility, I would have to feed him, I would have to teach him, I-" said Ash, but was interrupted my May's hand coming over his mouth.

"Ash," May said smoothly. "You're not alone in this. Brock knows which type of food to make for Pokemon and Max could teach him some stuff, but whatever comes at us, we'll do it together, Ash. That's what friends do."

Ash thought about it. She was right, they could always help with the new born Pichu.

But Ash had another thought.

"What about this body?" asked Ash.

May was confused.

"I'm not really a Pikachu, May. What if I turn back into a human? What would I tell him?" asked Ash.

May looked deeply into Ash's eyes. She now understood what Ash was going through.

"That's something you have to do, Ash. None of us can help you with that," said May.

Ash looked to the floor, then looked back at May. May returned the glance.

May remembered the Team Magma man.

"Ash, I have to tell you something..."

May tried to find the right words.

"Yes?" asked Ash.

"Ash, in order for us to... bring Misty II over... to this Pokecenter... I had to...um... I had to j-" said May, but was interrupted by Brock opening the door to their room.

"Hey, guys. Have you seen Pikachu anywhere?" asked Brock.

Ash and May shook their heads.

"You can't find Pikachu? Where was the last place you saw him?" asked Ash.

"Well, the last time I saw him was when we where in the prison cell with Team Rocket," said May.

Ash's eyes widened.

"You where with Team Rocket?"

* * *

"I can't believe we finally have it!" said James, smiling so much that his cheeks hurt.

"The twerps where too distracted by that girl Pikachu to notice us steeling this Pikachu!" said Meouth.

Team Rocket where celebrating while running into a near by woods.

Jessie was holding Ash's Pikachu with her rubber gloves. (Where she got the gloves and how she put them on so fast beats me.)

"Hey Jessie, do you have any idea where we are going?" asked Meouth.

James walked over to Meouth and slapped him across the cheek.

"OW! What was that for?" asked Meouth.

"Well, Jessie's hands are full, so I did her job when someone questions her," said James.

Jessie then walked over to James and kicked him in the shin.

"OW! What was that for?" asked James.

"No one does my job except for me! Now, where is that hot air balloon?" said Jessie.

* * *

"I have to find him!" said Ash while running to the door.

"Ash, you don't even know where they went," said May while trying to ketch up with him.

May grabbed Ash's Pikachu tail and pulled him away from the door. Ash wished that he could do a thunder shock on May so she would let go.

While May was pulling Ash, two kids where talking while giving their Pokeballs to Nurse Joy.

"I just saw the weirdest thing! A guy and a girl wearing white shirts with a red R in the middle and a Meouth where running into the woods while holding a Pikachu," said the kid.

Ash and May stop trying to pull at each other when they heard what the kid said.

"Which way did they go?" asked May.

The kid looked at her and pointed a finger out a window towards the woods.

**I'm sorry that it took so long to make this part. I've just been sick and had to go out of town and had to babysit, etc.** **Thanks for reading anyhow!**


	5. Chapter 5

Inner Strength part 5

Ash pulled his tail out of May's grip, ran out of the Pokecenter, and darted towards the forest with May right behind him. Brock and Max where still with Misty II and Pichu in the Pokecenter.

Ash ran into a clearing right beside the Pokecenter, when Ray appeared right in front of him.

Ray waved away some of the blue smoke that was left behind from teleporting and looked at Ash. Ash looked at Ray and started to think to himself, _This can not be happening._

"Hello, Ash," said Ray.

Ash looked back at the forest and thought about Pikachu.

"I don't have time for this!" shouted Ash and ran to the forest.

"Hey, wait! I have to br-," started Ray, but Ash was already running into the forest and completely forgetting about him.

Ray stood there for a second, thinking that Ash was going to fight him willingly. Then started walking towards the forest that Ash had just ran into.

May saw Ray walking towards the forest and saw his Team Aqua uniform, so she knew that he was going to hurt Ash. So, she tried to stop him by running ahead of him and placing her body between Ray and the forest, showing him that she won't let him through.

"What are you doing?" asked Ray.

"Stopping you from getting to my friend," said May.

Ray laughed.

"How are you going to stop me?" asked Ray.

May grabbed one of her Pokeballs and pressed the white button that turns it to normal size.

Ray understood what she meant and popped a Pokeball out of his arm. May just noticed that his arm was metal and was shocked by the discovery.

"I see you like my arm," said Ray.

"Why would someone cut off their arm just to replace with a robotic one?" asked May.

Ray's face reddened with anger.

"I didn't cut off my arm! Your yellow friend is the reason for this!" said Ray while holding up his metal arm and letting all the gears grind as loud as they can.

May wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not, but she didn't have time to think because Ray was getting ready to call out his first Pokemon.

" Go, Chikorita!" said Ray as he threw out his Pokeball and released the Pokemon inside of it.

_Chikorita is a grass type Pokemon, so it's weak against fire. This is going to be easy_, thought May.

"Go, Combusken!" shouted May and threw out her Pokeball and released her Pokemon.

Ray looked at her fire type Pokemon, and did a small chuckle.

He walked over to his Chikorita and laid his robotic arm on it. His palm started to glow blue. The glowing blue light, then, turned transparent and crawled over Chikorita's body.

Chikorita got a little nervus that all this stuff was crawling on her body, but she stood still with her master's cold, metal hand on her.

Soon, all the transparent, blue stuff was on Chikorita's entire body. Then, the blue stuff faded away.

Ray took his robotic hand off of his Pokemon and stepped away.

May wasn't sure of what to think of what has just happened, but she didn't want her enemy get a clear shot of her Combusken.

"Combusken, use flamethrower!" shouted May to her Pokemon.

Combusken inhaled deeply, then blew fire out of his mouth, aiming at Chikorita.

Chikorita stood there, waiting for her master to command her to do something, and watching the flames dancing over to her, but Ray didn't say anything. He didn't tell Chikorita to doge or anything, but just waited.

May, seeing this, thought, _Does he want me to hurt his Pokemon?_

The flames engulfed Chikorita and May thought that this match was already over. But, as the flames died down, she could see that Chikorita was unharmed and not burned.

"That's impossible! Fire type attacks always hurts grass type Pokemon. Why did that attack not even affect her?" said May.

Ray laughed.

"Did you not see what I did before to battle even started?" said Ray.

May remembered that he did that weird thing with his robot arm to his Pokemon.

"I placed a shield around my Chikorita. Now, all attacks will be absorbed by it," said Ray while smiling.

_Absorb? _Thought May.

"Chikorita, flamethrower!" commanded Ray.

Chikorita opened her mouth and blew out the same flames that came out of Cumbuskin's, but just faster and harder.

The flames hit Combusken before May had time to tell him to doge.

Combusken stood his ground, for fire Pokemon don't get hurt that bad when hit by fire. But, still . . . That hurt.

_Ash, please hurry! I don't know how long I can take him_, thought May.

* * *

After running around for about five minuets, Ash knew that he has seen that tree before.

"I'm running around in circles," said Ash to himself.

Ash stopped and tried to think of where to go.

_If I was Team Rocket, in a forest, were would I go? _Thought Ash.

Ash kept thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking. . . and thinking, until he just couldn't think of anywhere that Team Rocket would be.

Ash looked at the ground and saw some foot prints. One was a normal size for a male human, one was a little smaller, maybe a female's, and one was a paw print.

Ash slapped himself on his head for not seeing this before and followed the foot prints.

* * *

Brock and Max were getting a little worried. . . not about Ash and May, but about Misty II getting mad for not being able to see her love, Ash. And the noises outside weren't helping.

"Pika Pikachu!" said Misty II while still holding her baby Pichu.

"Misty II, you're going to have to wait. We told you that we don't know where Ash went," said Max.

Misty II wasn't going to take that for an answer. She got out of bed, still holding on to her baby Pichu, and walked to the door. Brock ran over to the door and stopped her by placing his body in front of the door.

"Misty, you still need rest. I'm sorry, but I can't just let you go outside," said Brock.

Misty II looked at Brock with eyes that said, I'm-going-to-kill-you-if-you-don't-move-away-from-the-door.

Brock looked at those eyes and gulped, but didn't move away from the door.

Now Misty II was mad, and the loud THUMP outside didn't make her happy. She wanted to know if that was Ash out there who was making those noises, if not, then where is he? She was willing to hurt Brock just to see him, and that's what she did.

Misty II's body flooded with electricity as she charged up her attack at Brock (she so skilled at her attacks that she could completely avoid Pichu, who was cradled in her arms, and still do a thunder shock at someone else).

Brock didn't even have time to doge her attack as she unleashed her thunder shock.

ZZAWAM! "Ouch," said Brock.

Brock fell to the ground, all burnt from the attack, and Misty II looked at Max and pointed to the door, telling him to open it. Max did so, scared that he might get shocked, and opened the door for her.

* * *

May was getting a little bit worried too. . . about herself.

After her Cumbuskin got slammed to the wall of the Pokecenter (hint the loud THUMP hint) May wasn't sure she will win this mach.

(I mean, her Cumbuskin just got knocked out by a grass type Pokemon! What more do you need?)

May was surprised at how powerful Ray's Chikorita's attacks where, it took only three hits for her Cumbuskin to get knocked out, and he was one of May's strongest Pokemon.

May got out her Pokeball and returned Cumbuskin.

"Return!" said May as the red light came out of her Pokeball and towards Cumbuskin (you know how it works).

"You call that a battle?" said Ray, annoyingly.

May knew that she wasn't doing very good at this battle, but as long as he is away from Ash, it will be all worth it.

"Come on! Bring out your next Pokemon so I can beat it!" said Ray.

May grabbed another Pokeball from her belt.

_Ash, you really need to pick up the paste_, thought May.

* * *

Ash knew he was getting closer, the foot prints were getting more and more fresh. Soon, he was close enough to hear voices.

"Just admit it, we're lost!" said Meowth.

Ash could see them, but he stood at an ear shot away, so Team Rocket could not see him.

"No we're not! It's just around this clearing," said Jessie.

"You said that three clearings ago," said James, then Ash heard a loud slap.

"I know where we are going! Just follow me," said Jessie.

"Pika Pikachu Pika," said Pikachu.

Ash knew that was Pikachu's voice, but it sounded rather, annoyed. Like, he was annoyed at hearing Team Rocket argue all the time. Ash didn't blame him.

Ash hid in some tall grass and silently snuck up to Team Rocket.

"If you're sure of were you are going, then where are we?" asked Meowth.

"Shut up, Meowth! I just need some time to think," said Jessie.

Ash crawled silently in the grass and soon saw Pikachu in Jessie's rubber gloved hands.

He didn't know what to do. If only if he could talk to Pikachu. Then, Ash started to wonder if he could talk to Pikachu through his mind.

_Pikachu, can you hear me? _Thought Ash.

Pikachu look around, as if he heard someone say his name, but couldn't see them. Pikachu kept looking around, and soon saw Ash in the grass.

Pikachu was about to say something, but Ash cut him off by talking through his mind so Pikachu wouldn't alert Team Rocket.

_Pikachu, talk in your head so Team Rocket wont hear you_, thought Ash.

_I could swear that I hear my trainer talking, but I don't see his lips moving_, said a voice in Ash's head.

That must be Pikachu's. (Wow, now he talks English!)

_Pikachu, it's me, Ash! I'm talking to you through my mind_, said Ash.

"Pikachu pika!" said Pikachu.

_Shh! Team Rocket will hear you_, thought Ash.

Team Rocket were still arguing about which way to go and apparently didn't notice Pikachu talk.

_Pikachu, this is possible. How else would I be talking to you without my mouth moving_? Said Ash.

_Prove it_, said Pikachu.

Ash didn't really know how to prove it to Pikachu that he was really talking through his mind. Then, an idea popped up.

Ash slowly brought his head out of the grass (he didn't really need to worry about Team Rocket, because they were still arguing with each other).

_Pikachu, look at my lips_. _I'm going to say Pokemon. Now, if I couldn't talk through my mind, then I wouldn't know that I should say Pokemon, right? Will that prove it to you? _said Ash in his head.

Ash whispered "Pokemon" and Pikachu started to smile.

_How are you able to do that?_ Asked Pikachu through his head.

_No time to explain, right now I need you to listen to my plan to get you out of Team Rocket's grasp_, said Ash.

_Before you do, I just have one thing to say_, said Pikachu

_What?_

_You have no idea how to hide yourself. You're one of us, a Pikachu, and you're yellow, which pops out in green grass._

Ash didn't think about that.

_Thanks for the tip, Pikachu. Now here's the plan._

Ash explained what they were to do.

* * *

May's Squrtle fell to the ground, knocked out.

"Come on! Is this all you've got?" said Ray.

May got out her Pokeball and returned Squrtle. He was her last Pokemon. What should she do now?

"Where's your next Pokemon?" asked Ray.

"I don't have anymore. You've beaten them all," said May.

Ray laughed.

"That's it?" asked Ray.

"That's it," said May.

Ray laughed again.

"Well then, move along, sweet stuff. You said that I have to beat you to get to your yellow friend. So please, move aside," said Ray.

May stood there, not moving. She wasn't going to give up on her friend that easily.

"I never said that. I said that I was stopping you from getting to my friend, and I will keep on doing it," said May.

Ray shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine by me," he said.

May wondered what he meant by that.

"Chikorita, raiser leaf!" commanded Ray.

May doesn't have any Pokemon on the field, what could he be attacking?

Then, the idea hit May. Ray was shooting at her!

The leaves shot right at her stomach, scratching and tarring cloth and skin, but May still stood.

"Chikorita, again!" commanded Ray.

More raiser, sharp leaves came at May, but now at her arms, chest, and some of her face. They tore more and dug into the skin of May's face and arms.

"Please, s-stop!" asked May through a blood filled mouth.

"I'll stop if you move," said Ray.

"I can't move, I wont move," said May.

Ray shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine. Chikorita, vine whip," said Ray.

Long vines came out of Chikorita's body and ran over to May.

May held her ground and braced herself, because she knew this was going to hurt.

_Ash, I hope this was worth it_, thought May.

The vines came and wacked her on the head, like a rock falling on an egg. She fell to the ground, out cold.

* * *

Ash (still hiding in the tall grass) was getting ready to start his plan.

_Now? _Asked Pikachu, telepathically.

_Not yet_, said Ash.

"I'm telling you that it's that way," said James.

"Well, I'm telling you that it's that way!" said Jessie.

"What is which way?" asked Meowth.

Jessie and James looked at each other, then at Meowth.

"We don't know," said both James and Jessie.

All this arguing really helped out in stalling for time for Ash and Pikachu.

_Now! _Thought Ash.

Pikachu started squirming in Jessie's rubber gloved hands.

"Now what?" said Jessie.

Pikachu kept squirming more and more to the point where Jessie could barley hold on to him.

"What wrong with it?" asked James.

"I. . .don't. . .know. . .uh!" said Jessie as she tried to hold on to the squirming Pikachu.

"Pika Pikachu!" shouted Pikachu as he tried to get free.

"He says, 'let me go'," translated Meowth.

"Thanks for that, Captain Obvious," said James as he tried to help Jessie hold on to Pikachu.

Now that everyone's attention was on Pikachu, Ash had the perfect chance to sneak up from behind.

Ash snuck up behind Jessie, while she was trying to hold on to Pikachu, and did a quick attack at her back. She fell down, screaming from surprise and pain, and dropped Pikachu.

Ash ran over to the dropped Pikachu and pulled him up to his feet and motioned him to run. Pikachu got up and started to run with Ash.

Team Rocket only had about three point two seconds to find out what happened to them. James went over to Jessie to see if she was okay. She got back up, not happy, and got out her Pokeball. James did the same.

"Go, Seviper! Catch both of those Pikachues," said Jessie and threw out her Pokeball to release her Pokemon.

"Wait, why both?"asked James.

"Because, the more, the merrier," said Jessie.

Meowth thought about that for a second.

"If we're going by 'the more, the merrier', then why didn't we get that girl Pikachu?' asked Meowth.

"Because, all the twerps had their full attention on her and would've noticed that she was missing. Now stop asking questions and get those two!" said Jessie.

James got out his Kaknia (then was hugged by it) and ordered it to find a way to stop the two Pikachues.

Kaknia and Seviper both ran ahead of Ash and Pikachu and stopped them in their tracks.

"Pikachu pika pikachu," said Pikachu as he saw that they where trapped.

"Looks like we're going to have to fight," said Ash to Pikachu.

"Pika," said Pikachu to Ash.

"Don't worry. We've beaten these guys plenty of times. One more time shouldn't be too hard," said Ash.

Ash was starting to notice that he could understand Pikachu a little more than he could before. He could tell when Pikachu said "yes" or "no" or when he was worried and other emotions by the sound of his voice, but he was never able to understand every word that Pikachu said.

Team Rocket overheard Ash talking to Pikachu and was surprised that he could talk. Meowth started to cry at the sight.

"Why are you crying, and what did that Pikachu with the hat mean about 'we've beaten these guys plenty of times'?" asked James.

Meowth sniffed.

"It's just. . .sniff. . . I thought that I was the only one. . . sob. . . who tried his hardest to learn English. . .sniff. . . and I kept thinking that it was for nothing. . .tries to calm himself down. . .but now, I see this Pikachu that has tried and succeeded at learning English. So now, I'm not the only one," said Meowth.

Ash looked at the crying Meowth.

"Um, English was my first language, so I didn't have to really learn as hard," said Ash.

Meowth stopped crying.

"Fine then. Be that way," said Meowth.

"Hey, what that thing on that Pikachu's head?" asked James.

James had noticed the microchip on Ash's head.

"I don't care, I just want to get them! Seviper, poison tail," commanded Jessie to her Pokemon.

Seviper's tail started to brighten as he charged it up, then he swung it at Pikachu.

"Doge it!" said Ash.

Pikachu jumped to the side as Seviper's tail nearly missed him.

"Now, iron tail, Pikachu," said Ash.

Pikachu's tail brightened up and he jumped into the air (eye level with Surviper) and swung his tail at Seviper's head. Seviper fell down, but got back up.

James and Jessie were surprised that a Pokemon could command a Pokemon just like a trainer. In fact, that voice seemed familiar somehow.

"Were have I heard that voice before?" asked James to himself.

"It seems familiar to me too," said Jessie.

"And that hat looks familiar too," said Meowth.

Team Rocket looked hard at Ash, trying to find out were they heard his voice.

Ash cleared his throat and tried to make his voice deeper, so Team Rocket wouldn't be able to recognize it.

"You've never seen me before, this is the first time we've met," said Ash with a deep voice.

"Then why did you say 'we've beaten these guys plenty of times'?" asked James.

Ash didn't know what to say, so he just went and did a quick attack at Kaknia.

Kaknia fell down from the blow, but got back up, just like Seviper.

"So, you wont answer our questions, but you'll fight. Fare enough. Seviper, poison sting," said Jessie.

"Kaknia, you do a poison sting too," said James.

Seviper opened his mouth while Kaknia pointed his arms and both did poison sting at Ash and Pikachu.

Ash told Pikachu to doge and did the same thing himself. Ash moved faster then he thought he could move to doge all the stings. Left, then right, then back, then forward, left, back, forward, right and finally the poison sting stopped.

Ash looked back at Pikachu to see if he was okay. He was.

"Pikachu, quick attack and follow it up with iron tail!" said Ash.

Both Pikachu and Ash ran up to their opponents and did a quick attack to both of them, then Pikachu did an iron tail to Seviper , who fell down unconscious.

Ash looked at Kaknia, who was hurt by his quick attack, but not knocked out. So, Ash ran up to it and jumped into the air. He focused everything on his tail and slammed it on top of Kaknia.

Kaknia fell down, knocked out, and Ash saw to his amassment that his tail was glowing. It was glowing just like Pikachu's was.

He had learned iron tail.

Pikachu looked at his master and saw the glowing tail. Pikachu started jumping up and down at how happy he was to see that his master had learned a new move.

"No! Kaknia!" said James.

"Why does this seem so familiar too?" asked Meowth.

"Oh shut up, you!" said Jessie.

Ash looked at Pikachu and at Team Rocket.

"Pikachu, would you like to do the honors?" asked Ash.

Pikachu nodded his head. He looked at Team Rocket and did a thunder sock to "blast them off again".

"Hey, I just remembered! We never did our lines!" said Meowth as he was flying into the sky.

"What lines?" asked James who was flying behind Meowth.

"You know, 'prepare for trouble' and 'surrender now or prepare to fight'. Those lines," said Meowth.

"Oh, yea," said James.

"Shut up you two, and say your lines that you're supposed to say right now," said Jessie.

Everyone took a deep breath.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" said everyone from Team Rocket and disappeared from view.

Ash gave Pikachu a high five and they both followed Team Rocket's foot prints back to the Pokecenter.

* * *

After Misty II had simply pointed to the door of the Pokecenter, Max got up and opened it for her, scared that if he did something wrong, Misty II might thunder shock him.

Misty walked out of her room (still holding the baby Pichu) and started walking towards the front door.

Nurse Joy saw Misty II with Pichu walk out of their room and she tried to stop them.

"Now, now, little new mother. I can't let you go just yet. You still need lots of rest," said Nurse Joy.

Misty II didn't even look at Nurse Joy, but just kept on walking.

"Where are you going?" asked Nurse Joy.

"She wants to see A-. . . I mean, her mate," said Max, following behind Misty II.

"Oh. Okay then," said Nurse Joy.

Max raised an eye brow.

"'Okay then'? She wants to see if he's outside," said Max.

"Well, when a female Pikachu wants to see her mate, then she'll stop at nothing just to see him. Besides, it wont hurt too much just to go outside," said Nurse Joy.

"Have you not heard all the noise coming from outside?" asked Max.

"What noise?"

Then, there was a loud WACK (Chikorita's vine whip on May's head)and was soon followed by a soft THUD (May falling down, unconscious) from the outside.

"That noise!" said Max.

Nurse Joy then did seem very worried about Misty II and her baby.

"Well, you can't stop her, but you can keep an eye on her in case there's something wrong," said Nurse Joy.

"What do I do if there is something wrong?" asked Max.

"Come back to me and we'll call for help," said Nurse Joy.

Max nodded his head and followed Misty II to the front door. . .where Ray is just around

the corner, waiting.

**What will happen next? Will Ray see Misty II and Max? Will May be okay? Will Ash's new move help them later in his journey? What about Misty? Will Ash see Misty soon? Find out in the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

Inner Strength part 6

**Here's a note to everyone. Ash still has his hat, even though he's a Pikachu.**

Ash ran along with his best friend with the biggest smile imaginable. He was just so happy that Pikachu was back and was safe, and he was happy that he had learned a new move.

Pikachu smiled along with him as they ran out of the forest, happy that his master had saved him.

Soon, they could see parts of the Pokecenter through the leaves and branches of the trees as they ran closer to the edge of the forest.

When Ash could recognize the parts of the building, he ran as fast as he could, getting down on all fours and sprinting just like how he saw Pikachu do it.

They where now out of the forest and could see the entire side of the Pokecenter, and Ash felt like flying he was so happy.

But, the happiness didn't last long.

Ash skidded to a halt and saw the Team Aqua man, Ray, waiting for him, and right in front of Ray was May's body, motionless.

_Oh, no_, thought Ash as he remembered that Ray teleported here awhile ago.

Ash ran over to May's body, seeing if she was all right.

She was breathing, which meant that she was unconscious.

Her body had blood running from here and there, and her shirt was torn apart.

Ash looked at Ray. He just stood there, as if he was waiting for him.

"Took you long enough," said Ray.

"What did you do to her?" asked Ash. Pikachu was right beside him.

"Well, she didn't move when I asked her. So, I made her move," said Ray.

Ash saw that Ray already had a Pokemon on the field, that must mean the May and him fought in a battle.

"It's time to go, shorty. Bob isn't going to wait forever," said Ray.

Ash couldn't let Ray just take him away, but May needs help, she's unconscious and is losing too much blood.

"Pikachu, I need you to get help. Go to the Pokecenter and try to see if Nurse Joy can help May," said Ash.

"Pika pikachu pikachu pika pika," said Pikachu.

"I know the Nurse Joy usually heals Pokemon, but she still might be able to help," said Ash to Pikachu.

Pikachu nodded and ran over to the front of the Pokecenter. Ray saw him run and tried to stop him, but Ash used his quick attack to stop Ray from stopping Pikachu.

"We can do this the easy way, shorty," said Ray.

"My name is Ash and I'm not going to let you harm me or my friends," said Ash.

"You can just tell your yellow friend not to tell on me, and maybe I wont hurt him," said Ray.

Ash got down on all fours, preparing to pounce, and used that as his answer.

"Fine, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get," said Ray.

* * *

Max was opening the front door to the Pokecenter, when Pikachu jumped right in, surprising everyone.

"Pikachu? Where were you? We looked everywhere for you. Ash and May went outside to look for you," said Max.

"Pikachu pika pika pikachu pikachu pika pi pikachu!" said Pikachu.

Max didn't really understand Pikachu, but he could tell that something was worrying him.

"What is it, Pikachu?" asked Max.

"Pikachu pi pika pi pikachu pikachu pika!" said Pikachu.

Right when Misty II heard this, she turned to Pikachu and kept asking him questions (or what sounded like questions).

"Pika pi pikachu?" asked Misty II.

"Pikachu pi pika pika!" answered Pikachu.

Misty II's eyes turned wide as she heard the bad news.

"What? What is it?" asked Max.

Both Pikachues ran over to Nurse Joy and started shouting and saying something to her.

"What is it?" asked Nurse Joy.

"Do you know what they're saying?" asked Max.

"I can understand some things that Pokemon say, but I don't have any idea what they are saying," said Nurse Joy.

Pikachu and Misty II were getting annoyed that no one understands them, so they started pulling Nurse Joy towards the front door.

_If they can't listen, then they'll have to see it for themselves_, thought Pikachu.

* * *

"Chikorita, could you show this yellow twerp who's boss?" said Ray to his Chikorita.

Chikorita (who was still facing May's body) walked in-between Ray and Ash, and got in her fighting stance.

Ash knew that Chikoritas are grass type Pokemon, and aren't effected that much by electricity. But sense he doesn't even know how to do thunder shock, it doesn't really matter.

"Chikorita, use raiser leaf!" commanded Ray.

Chikorita started to rotate her head faster and faster and faster, until leaves started flying off the leaf on her head and towards Ash.

Ash tried to doge as many leaves as he could, but he was never to best at Doge Ball. Some cut through his skin, some cut his tail, and some even tore up his hat.

When the leaves stopped coming, Ash realized that he could've done a quick attack to doge and counter the raiser leaf attack.

_Remember, it's just like any other battle. You just have to think like the trainer you were before_, Ash thought to himself.

Ash did a quick attack at Chikorita, but when he hit her, the blue shield covered Chikorita's body and protected her from Ash's attack.

"What? How?" asked Ash after he did the attack.

Ray gave an annoyed sigh.

"I just explained all this to that girl. It's a shield, it absorbs attacks, you can't hurt it. But, I'm not sure if it could absorb that attack," said Ray.

_Man! That's cheating! _Thought Ash.

Wait, "I'm not sure if it could absorb that attack" could mean something.

Ash looked at his tail. _Maybe this move will come in handy._

Ash ran over to Chikorita, jumped up, and slammed his iron tail on her head.

The shield kept blocking his attack, so he pressed harder.

Chikorita's shield kept holding on, but whenever Ash pressed harder, the shield grew fainter. Ash pushed with all his might and focused everything on his tail.

Ray was getting a little worried that Ash might be able to break the Chikorita's shield.

"Chikorita, vine whip!" commanded Ray.

Long, strong vines came out of Chikorita's body and went up to Ash. Ash saw them and grabbed one of them.

Then, he bit down, hard on the vine he was holding on to.

Chikorita shrieked in pain, and Ash thought, _I guess I've just learned bite._

"Chikorita, get him off of your vine!" commanded Ray.

Chikorita started swinging her vine that Ash was bitting. She jerked it here and swung there, but Ash held on and kept bitting harder.

Sense that didn't work, Chikorita swung her vine down to the ground, along with Ash. Ash got slammed to the hard ground and almost lost his breath, but he still held on (but his hat fell off).

Now Chikorita swung her vine towards the wall of the Pokecenter. Pain crawled its way up Ash's spine and mouth, and made him let go of Chikorita's vine.

He fell down with a THUD.

Chikorita brought back her wounded vine and placed it back inside her body.

"Give up yet?" asked Ray.

Ash stood back up. He saw his fallen hat, and placed it back on his head.

"I never give up! Especially when I'm helping a friend!" said Ash, new hope coming to him.

"Chikorita, another vine whip!" said Ray.

Chikorita got out a different vine than from before, and shot it out to try to get Ash.

But, Ash knew what to do now. He waited for the vine to get close enough.

_Just a little bit closer_, thought Ash.

The vines came right over Ash's head, and Ash got ready.

Chikorita's vines flung down towards Ash's head, but before they could touch the ground, Ash did a back flip, with his iron tail on, and cut the vine.

"Chikor!" shouted the Chikorita in pain.

When Ash had realized what he had just done, he was amazed with himself.

_Wow, I didn't know I could do that! I just did a perfect back flip! _Thought Ash.

Chikorita pulled back her cut off vine and placed it back inside her body.

"Well, this is finally turning into a match!" said Ray.

"You can't win, now! I know the weakness to your shield!" said Ash.

"Ha! You wish. So you can cut off some vines, so what? You can't do any real damage to my Pokemon even if I only use vine whip," said Ray.

"I didn't mean that," said Ash.

Ray looked puzzled.

Ash ignored him and ran at Chikorita, using quick attack, and at the last second he swung an iron tail at her head.

The combination of speed followed by a hit made the shield quiver.

Ash kept pressing with all of his might while watching the shield starting to fade away.

"Chikorita, get him off of you!" commanded Ray, worried that Ash might get the shield off.

Chikorita couldn't move with all the force Ash was pressing on her head.

The shield was now hard to see, so Ash pressed harder until. . .

SLASH!

Chikorita fell to the ground, knocked out.

Her head had a deep cut from Ash's tail.

Ray stood there, amazed at what Ash just did. Then, he relaxed a little.

"Good job, 102! I didn't know you could do it," said Ray and he started clapping.

"Okay, Ray. I've beaten your Pokemon, so now leave before I do the same thing to you as I did to your Chikorita," said Ash.

"Do you really think I only brought one Pokemon?" asked Ray while popping another Pokeball out of his arm.

"Oh, no," said Ash.

"Oh, yes! Don't tell me you already forgot about Teddiursa," said Ray.

Ray threw out the Pokeball and released the Teddiursa that met Ash at the Team Aqua testing lab.

Teddiursa looked at Ash and recognized him.

"Teddy teddiursa ursa ursa?" asked Teddiursa.

"Yes, we've met," answered Ash.

Teddiursa smiled darkly, he already knew the answer before Ash said it.

"You don't have to worry about another shield, I'm saving some of my juice for something else. Teddiursa, focus punch!" said Ray.

Teddiursa's fist started to glow as he ran over to Ash.

_Here we go again_, thought Ash.

* * *

Pikachu and Misty II were still trying to pull Nurse Joy over to the seen-of-the-crime.

"What is wrong? Where are you two taking me?" asked Nurse Joy.

Pikachu just shook his head. _We just have to show you humans everything, don't we? Because you don't understand us at all, _thought Pikachu.

They soon pulled Nurse Joy out of the Pokecenter and quietly showed her what was happening.

Nurse Joy saw the mate of the female Pikachu fighting a Teddiursa, who seemed to belong to a man, who wore everything blue and had a robotic arm.

On the sidelines, near the edge of the forest, was the girl that helped bring the female Pikachu over to the Pokecenter. She didn't seem to be couscous.

"This isn't good," said Nurse Joy.

"What isn't good?" asked Max, but soon found out as he looked over the edge of the building.

"They were the ones making all the noise, and that girl seems to be hurt," said Nurse Joy.

"Oh, no, May!" said Max.

"Pika!" said Pikachu and placed his finger (paw, whatever) up to his lip, telling Max to stay quiet.

Max nodded and hid with the others, behind the edge of the Pokecenter.

"We have to do something! May's out there, hurt!" said Max.

"We can't just go out there. If that man sees us, we could get killed," said Nurse Joy.

"Well? What came we do?"

"We can call the police," said Nurse Joy and started walking over to the front door.

"No! We can't call them," said Max, remembering Officer Jenny taking them to jail for no reason, and then having to brake out. The cops could be looking for them.

"Why not?"

"Because . . .um, it's a long story," said Max, trying to think of someway not tell her.

"Um. . .okay, so how do we help them?" asked Nurse Joy.

Max thought about it. He tried to use as much of his brain to think up of a good plan.

He thought of something. It wasn't much of a plan, but it just could work.

"Pikachu," said Max.

Pikachu looked up at Max and gave him a look that said, "What?"

"Do you think you can help Ash out in his fight?" asked Max.

Pikachu nodded.

"I need you to try to keep the Team Aqua man distracted so we can get May," said Max.

Pikachu nodded again and ran over to the fight to help his master.

* * *

Teddiursa threw a glowing punch at Ash. Ash dodged to the left and flung his tail at Teddiursa's back, sending him flying to the ground.

"Teddiursa ursa teddiursa," said Teddiursa while on the ground.

"Yes, I have learned a new move," said Ash.

Teddiursa got back up and looked at Ray.

"Teddy teddiursa ursa ursa teddy?" asked Teddiursa to Ray.

Ray shrugged.

"Sure, knock yourself out," answered Ray.

Teddiursa turned his gaze back at Ash.

_What did Teddiursa mean by, "can I fight this one alone?" _thought Ash.

Ash soon found out as Teddiursa started throwing punches at him. He was fighting without command, he was fighting on his own.

Ash dodged a left punch, then a right, left, right, left, right, upper cut? The upper cut caught him off guard.

Teddiursa upper cut Ash on his Pikachu chin, and almost knocked him out. He was able to stay conscious, but then Teddiursa's head and eyes started to glow, he was about to do confusion.

Ash looked away from Teddiursa to not be affected, but Teddiursa saw this as a chance to throw another focus punch at him.

Ash flew to the wall of the Pokecenter with another THUD. He quickly got back up and only had three seconds to dodge another punch.

Teddiursa missed, and Ash went behind him and flung his iron tail at his back again. Teddiursa took the blow and spun around. He tried to get Ash with scratch, but Ash dodged all of them.

Ash dodged one more scratch attack and did a quick attack at Teddiursa.

Teddiursa blocked the quick attack with his arms(paws, whatever), and Ash jumped on the arms, landed behind Teddiursa, and did one last iron tail at his back.

Teddiursa fell down.

He tried to get back up, but struggled doing so.

Teddiursa looked at Ray, who was just standing there, watching Teddiursa struggle to his feet, not helping or giving any words of encouragement.

Then, he looked back at Ash.

"Teddy teddiursa ursa ursa teddy teddiursa," said Teddiursa.

"You did very good too. I am surprised that I could do any of that stuff," said Ash.

Teddiursa did a little smile, a struggling-to-make smile.

Then, he fell down.

Ash watched Ray return Teddiursa into his Pokeball.

Then, Pikachu came over to Ash.

"Pikachu? What are you doing here? I told you to get help," said Ash.

"Pika pikachu pika," said Pikachu and pointed his head (so Ray wouldn't see) over to where Max and Nurse Joy where.

"Oh, okay. Good job!" said Ash.

"Good job on what?" asked Ray suspiciously.

Ash forgot that Ray was there.

_Maybe it would be better if we talk in our heads_, said Ash telepathically.

_Good idea,_ said Pikachu.

_What took you so long? _Asked Ash.

_I saw you fighting Teddiursa, so I thought this was your fight,_ said Pikachu.

_You mean that you've been watching me fight for my life this whole time?_

_It was your fight! I had no right to interfere._

Ash did a deep sigh.

_Fine then. What's the plan? _Asked Ash.

Pikachu told Ask their plan of how to help May.

"That's it? I've been doing that is whole time!" said Ash.

"What's it? What have you been doing this whole time?" asked Ray.

_I keep forgetting_, said Ash.

_Well that's the plan. We have to distract him a little longer and a little more,_ said Pikachu.

"Are you two done yet?" asked Ray, who was watching them. It looked like (to him) that they were standing there, looking at each other.

"Yea, we're done," answered Ash.

"Good, because I have a battle to finish!" said Ray.

"Were is your Pokemon, then?" asked Ash.

"I ran out," said Ray.

"So then, how are we supposed to battle?" asked Ash.

Ray placed Teddiursa's Pokeball back in his robot arm, and place his fist in a Tae-Kwon-Do fighting stance.

"You're going to battle me," said Ray.

* * *

After Max sent Pikachu out to help Ash, they all went back inside the Pokecenter.

"If we go to the other side of the building, were that man has his back turned to, we could sneak behind him and get that girl," said Nurse Joy.

Max nodded. Misty II, however, did a half nod. She was still worried that Ash would get hurt, badly, even if Pikachu is out there helping him.

She looked down at her son, who was cradled in her arms. His eyes were still closed.

She started to wonder what color Pichu's eyes would be. . .and what it would be like if there was no father there to help take care of him.

Max opened the door to the back room, where all the food was kept, and were the door that leads to the back of the Pokecenter was.

* * *

"Battle you?" asked Ash.

"Yes," said Ray.

Ash had never fought a human before, even when he was a human. Besides Gary.

"You ladies ready, yet? Because I am!" said Ray and charged at Ash.

Ash got ready, and he jumped up to Ray's face and started to swing his tail around to hit him with an iron tail.

But, Ray was faster and smarter than Ash thought, because before Ash could hit Ray, Ray had slammed the back of his metal fist down on Ash.

Ash was flung back to the ground, and he landed right on his stomach.

Ray did an Inner Crescent kick, and slammed his heel right on top of Ash's back, while Ash was still on the floor.

Ray placed his foot back up, getting ready for another Inner Crescent kick, but Pikachu stopped him by hitting him on the face with a quick attack.

Ray staggered back a little bit and Pikachu went over to Ash to help him up.

Ash got back up, and gave Pikachu a thumbs up sign (once again, paws, whatever).

Now, Ash could see Max, Nurse Joy, and Misty II quietly running over to May's body. Ray had his back turned on them and was looking at Ash and Pikachu, it was working!

Ray started charging at Ash again.

"Pikachu, thunder shock!" said Ash to Pikachu.

Pikachu's body filled with electricity as he got ready for his attack. Then, Pikachu released a powerful thunder shock, heading towards Ray.

Ray saw it, and placed his robotic arm across his face.

_Ray must be an idiot! Everyone knows that electricity can go through metal! _Thought Ash.

Apparently, Ray was smarter then Ash thought, because when the electricity hit Ray's metal arm, it seemed to be absorbing it. When Pikachu stopped, Ray flexed his arm and pointed a finger at Ash.

"Pikachu, dodge with quick attack!" said Ash.

Ray's finger shot out, not a blue beam, but a green beam right where Ash and Pikachu were, before they dodged.

Ray kept shooting whenever he saw a glimpse of Ash or Pikachu, trying to hit them while they where running.

Ash kept running around Ray as he was trying to shoot him.

One green shot got a little too close, so Ash changed his direction and ran towards the wall of the Pokecenter. He kept running, and he was running so fast that he was able to run up the wall.

Ray was amazed at how fast Ash was going, but he didn't stop trying to shoot him.

As Ash ran on the wall, Ray was following him with a shower of green beams.

Ray, eventually, learned that if you shoot a little bit ahead of a running object, you might hit them. So, he did that, and the green beam shot right in front of Ash, barley missing him.

Ash stopped running on the wall and let gravity pull him back to the ground.

As he looked back at where Ray missed him; he saw a big hole in the wall, and electricity was crawling all around it.

_I get it_, thought Ash. _He combined Pikachu's thunder shock and his gun into a more stronger beam._

_That also means that he's limited_, said Pikachu, overhearing Ash's thoughts.

"Hey, Ray! You couldn't shoot me with a cannon!" teased Ash.

"Oh, yea? I'll show you!" said Ray and started shooting at Ash again.

Ash kept dodging all the shots, wanting Ray to use up all his ammo.

As Ray was shooting at Ash, Pikachu came up from behind and iron tailed him right on his back.

Ray took the hit, but it still hurt. He turned around slammed a metal palm punch right on top of Pikachu's head.

There was a loud crack, and Pikachu fell to the ground.

"Pikachu!" said Ash after seeing the whole thing.

Ash ran over to his best friend to see if he was all right, but Ray got right in front of him and started to throw all kinds of kicks and punches.

Ash was able to block some and dodge some (being small has advantages), but when he tried to punch with his Pikachu fist at Ray, he remembered that he wasn't human. His small fist was about a foot away from Ray's leg, which he was aiming for.

"You're smaller now, duffus," said Ray while looking down at Ash.

Ash looked up at him, then back down to his leg.

Then, Ash ran over to Ray's leg and scratched it, cutting deep into the skin.

Ray yelped, but all it really did was make him mad.

* * *

Max, Nurse Joy, and Misty II (who was holding on to Pichu) soon got over to May's unmoving body.

"Is she alright?" asked Max when Nurse Joy came over to inspect her.

After checking for a pulse, Nurse Joy looked solemn.

"She's alive, but her pulse is very slow and it looks like she lost a lot of blood," said Nurse Joy.

"Can you help her?" asked Max.

"Maybe," said Nurse Joy.

"What do you mean?"

"I've only dealt with Pokemon being injured, never humans."

"Don't you have anything that could help her?"

"Maybe, but we'll still have to bring her into the Pokecenter."

Both Max and Nurse Joy lifted the limp body and started carrying it over to the back of the Pokecenter.

Misty II was following and was watching Ash fight the man wearing blue.

But, wait? Where's Pikachu?

Misty II looked around for Ash's back-up, but couldn't see him. Then, she saw him laying on the ground, unmoving.

"Pikachu pika pikachu!" said Misty II to the other two humans.

"Shh, Misty! You can't shout out something when we're right next to the Team Aqua man," said Max.

Misty II knew it was a waist of time to try to communicate, so she went over to the battle field.

Max and Nurse Joy were too occupied with May's body, that they didn't even see Misty II run out.

* * *

Ray triggered all his anger at Ash. He punched, kicked, punched, kicked, chop. He was able to finally slam one on top of Ash's small head. Too bad it was with his human hand.

Ash staggered back a little, but was able to shake off the pain.

"What's the use? You know you can't win against me," said Ray.

Ash noticed that some blood was dibbling out of his mouth and down his chin. He wiped it off.

"I've learned one very important thing when I was a human. That was to never give up!" said Ash.

That was when Misty II came into the seen.

"Pikachu pika!" said Misty II.

"Wh-what are you doing here? You're going to get hurt!" said Ash.

"Pika pikachu pikachu pika pikachu," said Misty II while shaking her head.

"Yes you will, and I can take him on my own. I just don't want anyone else to get hurt! And why did you bring Pichu?" said Ash.

"You two done yet?" asked Ray.

Ash and Misty II looked at Ray. He was holding out his robotic palm and pointing it at Ash and Misty II.

Then, his palm started to glow, and an orange light started to charge up in his hand.

"Misty II, get out of here," said Ash as he was watching Ray charge up whatever it was.

"Pika!" said Misty II and shook her head.

"Well, at least get Pichu out of here," said Ash, looking at his son.

Neither Misty II or Pichu had time to get out, for Ray's palm was done charging and was shooting a huge beam. If you looked at the beam while it was moving, you could estimate that the diameter of it was about the same size of the length of the Pokecenter.

And this huge beam was running towards a small half-Pikachu-half-human and a mother Pikachu with a baby.

Ash placed his hands in front of him to try to stop the beam, which he highly doubted, but had to try something to protect Misty II and his son.

The huge beam slammed on Ash's hand, but it stopped there.

"What the?" said Ray as he watched.

Ash was pushing back on the beam with success!

But, the beam was powerful and kept pushing back at Ash. Ash wasn't real sure how he could be able to keep pushing.

He had just been fighting two Pokemon and Ray, so he was tired. And now, he has to push away this enormous beam, and he wasn't even sure how he was doing it.

Ash looked back at Misty II and Pichu, to tell them to get out of here, but he wasn't able to.

Pichu, Ash's son, had opened his eyes and was looking at him. They were Ash's eyes.

Ash was watching his son look at him with his eyes. His eyes! Ash's Eyes!

Dark memories came back to Ash.

His father abusing his mother.

His father leaving his mother because she had Ash.

Times when their electricity and water went out because his father never left them with any money.

More memories of his father destroying his life, and now he is a father.

_I'm not going to turn into that! I'm not going to leave my son, whether or not I wanted him, and whether or not he's a human_, thought Ash.

New power arose within Ash as he pushed the beam.

Ash was now able to take a step closer to the metal arm. . .two steps. . .three!

"What? How are you doing that? How is that even possible?!" said Ray as he watched Ash slowly walk closer to him.

Ray pressed a few bottons on his metal arm to put all power into the beam, but Ash kept pushing and kept coming closer.

"Back off! Back off!" shouted Ray.

Ash ignored him and kept pushing the beam closer to the source.

Ray knew that Ash wasn't going to stop, so he tried to turn the beam off.

He pressed a few bottons on his arm again, but the beam wouldn't stop! Ray kept trying to turn it off, but it kept malfunctioning.

"If that beam gets too close to my palm, then it will short circuit," said Ray.

"That's the point," said Ash as he kept pushing the beam.

Now, Ash was only two steps away from Ray's metal palm. He pressed hard on his feet, and jumped (while still pushing on the beam) right into the hand.

The arm started to short circuit, and then it went limp.

Ash landed back on the ground, and Ray tried to move his arm, but it wouldn't move.

Ash jumped back up and grabbed Ray's metal wrist. Then, he slammed his heel on the metal elbow. The combination of the two allowed Ash to brake off Ray's metal arm.

"No!" shouted Ray as he watched Ash brake off his arm and toss it away.

The metal arm landed behind Ash, elbow pointing away and fist pointing at.

"Please! Have mercy!" said Ray as he was backing up, away from Ash, but tripped and fell.

"Mercy? Did you give my friends any mercy?" asked Ash as he started to walk up to Ray.

"Please! Team Aqua made me do it!" said Ray, his face completely filled with fear.

"Right, it was all Team Aqua," said Ash.

Ray tried to scoot back, away from the Ash.

"Please, you have to believe me!" said Ray.

"Look at you! You're useless without your robot arm," said Ash.

The arm behind them started to move.

"I'm not useless!" said Ray.

"Maybe if you used your real arm more then that fake one, you wouldn't be in this mess," said Ash.

"Maybe if you haven't took my real arm-"

"MAYBE, if you didn't try to steal me and those other Pokemon, neither of us would be here!" said Ash.

The metal arm slowly moved its index finger.

"I only did what I was tol-"

"You did what you where told? If I told you to kill yourself, would you?" asked Ash.

"That's different-"

"Its no different to me! If your parents told you to do something, that's different, but if an organization tells you to steal, kill people, and steal Pokemon, that's not!"

The arm pointed its index at Ash.

"If anyone hurts me or any of my friends, then I will personally brake off any human or robotic arm they have!" said Ash, anger flowing through him.

The metal index started to glow.

"And, if anyone tries to even bruise my son, I'll hunt them down!" said Ash.

"Okay, then," said Ray and smiled.

Ash was confused. A second ago, Ray was so scared that it looked as if he was about to piss in his pants.

"You don't have to worry too much about your son, but when you brake off someone's robotic arm. . .make sure it doesn't work," said Ray.

The metal arm fused the last bit of Pikachu's electricity and the blue bullets to form one last, but powerful, green shot and shot it at Ash.

Ash didn't even have enough time to dodge with a quick attack. . .but, Misty II did.

Misty II ran right in front of the green shot and shielded Ash with her body.

The shot drove deep into Misty II's body, shattering bone and ripping muscle, plus the extra electricity didn't help either.

Misty II fell down.

"No!" shouted Ash as he found out what all happened.

Ash ran over to Misty II's body, while giving Ray plenty of time to escape.

Ash looked at Misty II's body, she was badly hurt and was bleeding a lot. Ash placed his hands over her body to try to stop the bleeding.

Then, Ash remembered Pichu. He wasn't in Misty II's hands, so Ash started looking around for his son, while still trying to stop Misty II's bleeding.

He soon saw Pichu laying on some tall, soft grass, sleeping.


	7. Chapter 7

Inner Strength part 7

Ash sat beside Misty II, who was laying on her bed at the Pokecenter. She had tubes going in her and wires coming out.

On the other side of Misty II's bed was Pikachu's bed. He had badges wrapped all around his head, where Ray broke his crown.

Ash watched them sleep, hoping they would be okay.

He had been sitting there ever sense Nurse Joy brought Misty II and Pikachu in, after Ray got away. She also got Pichu and placed him in his own room with a special bed made just for electric type baby Pokemon.

As Ash kept watching Misty II's stomach slowly move up and down, he thought about May and his son. . .and if Misty II was going to make it.

Then, Nurse Joy walked into the room.

"Hello," said Nurse Joy with a warm smile.

"Hello, Nurse Joy," said Ash, not returning the smile.

Nurse Joy walked over to Pikachu and checked if he was getting better, then she did the same thing with Misty II.

"How's May?" asked Ash.

Nurse Joy checked some monitors that showed if any of the patients are okay, then she answered Ash.

"She's going to be just fine. Luckily, we had a human first aid kit and were able to patch her back up. But, she has lost a lot of blood, she may need a transfusion," said Nurse Joy.

"Could I give some of my blood?" asked Ash.

Nurse Joy shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that Pokemon blood and human blood can fuse with each other. I've never tried it, and it might be too dangerous. Besides, her little brother offered his blood before we were able to even place her on the bed," said Nurse Joy.

Ash nodded, happy that his friend is going to be okay, but then thought about his Pokemon friends.

"Will they be okay?" asked Ash, gesturing to the two Pikachues in bed.

"The male Pikachu will be just fine," reassured Nurse Joy.

"And the female?" asked Ash.

Nurse Joy checked the monitors around Misty II one last time before answering.

"She has taken an almost life threatening hit. If she wasn't shot right next to a Pokecenter, she wouldn't have made it," said Nurse Joy.

"But you still haven't answered my question, is she going to be all right?" asked Ash, wanting to know.

Nurse Joy tried to give a warming smile, but couldn't get one out.

"For now, she's all right, but her injuries don't look like they're going to heal any time soon. Either it will take months or. . .never," said Nurse Joy.

Ash hung his head down. Then, he started to cry.

"She. . .sob . . .gave her life for me! cry. . .I should be the one in that bed, not her!" sobbed Ash.

Nurse Joy laid a hand on his shoulder.

"There is still a chance that she might live. You just have to have hope," said Nurse Joy and walked out of the room.

Ash still sat there, right next to Misty II's bed, watching her stomach slowly move up and down. A tear fell out of his eye.

_She shouldn't have to be in that bed. I should have been, _thought Ash.

_Don't beat yourself up for something you're not responsible for_, said a familiar, telepathic thought.

Ash turned around to see the human Misty in the corner of the room.

"Misty?" said Ash.

"Hello again," said Misty.

Ash turned his back to her and kept watching Misty II's body moving up and down.

"Ash, what's wrong?" asked the human Misty.

Ash looked at her.

"What do you think? But, you don't care, do you? Because your in Team Aqua," said Ash and turned his back at Misty again.

"I do care, Ash, and it's not my fault that I'm in Team Aqua. I was forced to join," said Misty.

Ash turned and looked directly at Misty.

"The Misty I knew wouldn't go down without a fight. She would never have joined Team Aqua or Magma or Rocket! We fought them side by side! And yet, here she is! Saying that she just gave up and let one of Team Aqua's men to hurt my friends!" said Ash, starting to raise his voice.

Misty walked closer to Ash, squatted down (to be eye level with him), and locked eyes with him.

"I didn't go down without a fight, Ash," said Misty.

Ash didn't say anything, so Misty brought back her horrid memories and told him her story.

"They came out of nowhere, as if they had it planed out. I fought back, but their Pokemon where much stronger and more numbered."

Ash kept listening.

"Every time my Pokemon fainted, they would capture it before I could return it to its Pokeball. I kept shouting, 'Hey, you can't do that!', but they didn't listen. Soon, all of my Pokemon were stolen, except Tokepi."

Misty looked away from Ash's eyes to cry at the memory of her lost.

"They captured me, and took me to their head quarters. There, I saw their leader. He said he would spare my life if I would join them. I said no, but they wouldn't take that for an answer. The leader asked me if I knew anything about Inner Strength, I said no. So, as a demonstration, they took Tokepi out of my arms and pulled out her Inner Strength and destroyed it, right in front of me!"

Misty started to sob some more, but kept telling her story.

"They asked me again if I would join. I still said no, because what else could they do to me when all my Pokemon were gone? Then, they said, 'Okay then, sense you'll sacrifice your own Inner Strength, let us see if you'll sacrifice your friend's.' They told me that they knew about you and where you were and that if I didn't join, they'll take your Inner Strength and destroy it, just like they did to Tokepi."

Now, Ash knew he was looking at the real Misty.

"It's not my Inner Strength that they're threatening, it's your's," finished Misty.

"But, Misty. You know that I can take care of myself. I've fought these guys before, why would you still be so worried?" asked Ash.

Misty leaned over to Ash and kissed him on the cheek.

"I told you that you wouldn't understand," said Misty.

Misty stood back up and walked back to the corner she came from. Then, a transparent, blue cylinder covered her body.

Ash remembered that transparent cylinder and knew that Misty was going to teleport, already the blue smoke was filling up the cylinder.

"Misty! No! Wait!" shouted Ash as he tried to stop Misty from leaving.

Ash ran over to the cylinder and tried to pull Misty out, but the cylinder wouldn't let him in.

"I'm not supposed to be here, Ash. If I stay too long, they'll be suspicious. I just wanted to see you one last time," said Misty inside the cylinder.

Ash kept banging on the cylinder, trying to get Misty out before the blue smoke takes her away. He tried doing iron tail, quick attack, scratch, but none of them worked. He was just too tired from fighting Ray and his Pokemon.

Now, it was only a matter of seconds before te blue smoke fills up the whole cylinder.

Misty looked at Ash and gave him a little smile.

"I'll be back for you," said Misty.

ZAM! Misty was gone.

Ash stood there, where Misty was, and got down to the floor and started crying.

"This is all my fault! cry If it wasn't for me, Misty wouldn't be in Team Aqua, and if it wasn't for me, sob the other Misty wouldn't be laying in that bed!" said Ash to himself while he was crying.

Ash kept crying there for awhile, until Pikachu said something.

"Pikachu pika pika?" asked Pikachu.

Ash turned around to see his best friend, sitting up strait in his bed, watching him cry. He must have just woken up right when Ash started crying.

Ash couldn't hold in his emotions.

He jumped on top of Pikeachu's bed, ran up to Pikachu, and gave him a hug.

He hugged Pikachu and started to cry some more.

"Pikachu pika?" asked Pikachu while Ash was giving him a hug and was crying on his shoulder.

"Everything is my fault! cry It's my fault that everyone was hurt, including you! sob I'm just happy that you made it!" said Ash on Pikachu's shoulder and kept on crying.

Pikachu returned the hug.

_Ash, not everything is your fault. You can't just blame yourself every time something bad happens_, said Pikachu telepathically.

"But it is my fault!" said Ash and cried some more.

"Pi pika pika pi pikachu pikachu pi," said Pikachu.

Ash kept crying.

Pikachu sighed and started to pat Ash's back, to try to calm him down.

_Come on, keep it together, Ash. Keep it together._

Ash started to become quieter and started to take deep breaths.

_That's it. Deep breaths, calm down. That's it._

Ash finally stopped crying and let go of Pikachu.

"Thanks, Pikachu," said Ash.

"Pika pika!" said Pikachu.

Ash looked back at the corner where Misty was. Pikachu saw him looking at the corner.

"Pikachu pika pikachu pikachu?" asked Pikachu.

Ash looked back at his best friend. It might be safe to tell him.

"You might want to take a seat Pikachu, because I've got a long story to tell," said Ash and started to tell Pikachu about the Team Aqua base, Misty, Ray, the microchip, everything.

* * *

Later that night, Ash got to see Brock, (who eventually healed from the thunder shock) Max, and Nurse Joy and was able to thank them.

"You're very welcome, Ash. After all, it is my job to help Pokemon and their trainers," said Nurse Joy.

Brock, Max, and Ash found some chairs to sit in as Nurse Joy went to help the other patients. They sat down, exhausted, while Brock was pondering about Ash.

"Hey, Ash. Now that everything seems to be okay, could you tell us about that thing on your head?" asked Brock.

Ash sat up in his chair and nodded.

"But first, I'll have to tell you about what happened at the Team Aqua base," said Ash.

"You where at their base?!" exclaimed Max.

Ash nodded again and told them his story. He told them about being in the rubber room at the Team Aqua base, how they knew about Ash and got his friends into jail, but when Ash got to the part about Misty, everyone gasped.

"MISTY IS A PART OF TEAM AQUA?!" said Brock, one of the most shocked people in the whole building.

Ash hung his head low, and nodded again.

"Wasn't Misty one of your old friends before you met us?" asked Max.

Ash nodded his head once more.

"Then why would she join Team Aqua?" asked Max.

"I'm still trying to figure that out," said Ash.

Brock pondered for a moment.

"Maybe if we heard the rest of the story, we could find out," said Brock.

So, Ash went on, telling the rest of his story. Explaining Inner Strength, the microchip, Ray, the dreams with Artemis, everything.

Eventually, Ash said everything he knew, and let his words sink into Brock and Max's head.

"So, Misty is a new member of Team Aqua, the guy who changed you into a Pikachu is appearing in your dreams, you have a microchip that uses your Inner Strength as a weapon, and now we have to worry about Team Aqua and the police," said Brock.

Ash nodded one last time, but them thought about the "police".

"Why would we have to worry about the police?. . .Wait, that's right, you were all in jail! How did you get out?" asked Ash.

Now, it was Brock's turn to tell the story.

He told Ash about Team Rocket, Misty II's water breaking, and when he got to the part about the Team Magma man, Ash thought that they had one more thing to worry about.

"The Team Magma man let you all out?" asked Ash.

Now, Brock nodded.

"Why did he do that?" asked Ash.

"I'm not sure. May was the one talking to him while we were all trying to help out with Misty II. Maybe she somehow convinced him," said Brock.

Ash wasn't so sure. Team Magma weren't the kind that could be convinced. You either give them what they want or. . .you know. . .

Ash looked over his chair and at the room May was sleeping in.

_What could she have sacrificed? _Thought Ash.

Just then, Ash's stomach started to growl. So many things have happened that he forgot to eat!

Nurse Joy was walking by when she heard it, and she gave him a warm smile.

"Looks like someone is hungry. You need to eat something so you can get your strength back," said Nurse Joy and walk over to the food storage room.

"Nurse Joy, could you get me something too?" asked Max as she was walking to the food storage.

"Me too," said Brock.

After about half an hour, Nurse Joy came back with plates full of food. She passed Brock his plate and then Max's.

Ash wondered what delicious foods Nurse Joy would give him, but was surprised when Nurse Joy gave him Pokemon food.

"Um, I don't eat this stuff," said Ash.

"What? What Pokemon doesn't like this?" said Nurse Joy while pointing at Ash's bowl of Pokemon food.

"Ash, why don't you just try it?" suggested Brock.

"Last time I tried it, it tasted horrible," said Ash.

"'Last time' was when you were human," quietly said Brock, so Nurse Joy wouldn't hear them.

Ash considered this, and went ahead and pick one piece up. He looked at it, hesitating, then took a small bite.

As he chewed, his eyes grew wider and wider.

"THIS IS THE BEST STUFF I"VE EVER TASTED!" said Ash and started shoving food into his mouth.

"I told you!" said Nurse Joy and walked back over to the food storage to get some more.

When see came back with more food, Max asked her a question. He was pondering about Misty II.

"Nurse Joy, our Pokedex told us that it takes about one or two days for the Pichu to be born, why wasn't Misty II showing earlier?"

Nurse Joy gave another warm smile.

"Computers can only gess at when a offspring is born. No one can tell you the exact time when they are born or when they show," explained Nurse Joy.

Max nodded and ate some more food.

Later on, Ash choked on the Pokemon food. . .twice. Luckily, everyone was able to help him get the food out of his throat, but Nurse Joy had to take away Ash's bowl of Pokemon food so he wouldn't keep shoving it in and choke again.

When everyone was done eating, they all said good night and Nurse Joy went her separate room while Brock and Max went to their's.

Ash, however, went to the room where May was sleeping. He just wanted to make sure that she was going to be okay. So, he got himself comfortable (right next to May on the bed) and went to sleep.

* * *

"Hello, again, Ash," said Artemis.

Ash looked around. There was darkness everywhere.

He was back in Artemis' head.

"I told you that whenever you're asleep, I'll come to talk to you," said Artemis.

Ash remembered the time and nodded his head.

Artemis, still with his black cloak and hood on, raised his hand.

Out of the darkness of his head, came a thin, transparent, white, square.

"Now, for my questions," said Artemis, not paying any attention to the white square behind him.

"Okay," said Ash, getting ready.

Artemis nodded.

"Have you thrown up anything?" asked Artemis.

Ash wasn't expecting that question, but answered it anyway.

"Um, no."

"Do you feel light headed?"

"No."

As Artemis said the questions and Ash answered, Ash saw that everything he and Artemis said was being written on the white square.

He was taking notes.

"Teary eyes?"

"No."

More notes written down on the white square.

"Have you been feeling hot?"

"No."

"Cold?"

"No."

"Sore feet?"

"Well, I have been running a lot."

"Any points in time where you couldn't see?"

"No."

Artemis nodded his head while the white square wrote more notes on itself.

"Sweaty hands?"

Ash shook his head.

Artemis looked at his head and saw the microchip.

"What is that?" asked Artemis.

Ash saw that he was looking at his microchip on his head.

"Well, I'm not real sure what it is," said Ash.

"Let me look at it," said Artemis and walked over to Ash.

Another white square came out of the darkness and followed Artemis to Ash.

Artemis started turning Ash's head this way and that way, while muttering some scientific stuff.

"Seems to be a 40-probiter. . .no a 30-probiter. . .with a slightly turns Ash's head G3 turbine. . .along with a K-inner cable. . .," muttered Artemis.

Once again, every time Artemis said something, the white square would write it down. But, this one was a different white square.

It seems that the first white square was for Ash and the second white square was for the microchip on Ash's head.

"Um, Artemis. What are those white things?" asked Ash while Artemis was still looking at his microchip.

"Those are my memory files. I can pick what I want to remember and what I want to forget. Right now, I don't want to forget any of this information," said Artemis.

"You're able to pick your memories?" asked Ash.

"I suppose you could say that," answered Artemis.

"How are you able to do that?"

Artemis took a few more glances at Ash's microchip, and took some more notes. Then, let go of Ash's head.

"Why would you want to know that? Is there something you wish to forget?" asked Artemis.

The memory file floated away and sunk back into the darkness of Artemis' head, while the first one came back to take more notes.

"Yes. . .my father," answered Ash, the memories repeating again in his head.

Artemis looked closely at Ash, pondering his words.

"Ash, I am a scientist, and because emotions are not scientific, my knowledge of them are limited. But, I can tell you this," started Artemis.

Artemis sat down.

"We have memories to help us learn and teach others. Some memories, we want to forget, for they seem to haunt our minds, but what they're really doing is teaching us," said Artemis.

"How?" asked Ash.

"Say, you where in a car wreak and the person who was in the car you had just wreaked had died because of you. Because it was your fault that the person was killed, most people would want to forget about it, for it is a heavy burden. But, you remember it to learn to never do it again, not to haunt your mind. I'm not sure what your father did to you that makes you want to forget about him, but you must hold on to that memory and learn from it," said Artemis.

"What could I learn from him? Everything he had done either hurt me or my mother," said Ash.

"Learn from it, Ash. Those memories are teaching you how to become a true father. They are teaching you what not to do when you have a child of your own," said Artemis.

Ash thought about Pichu, and nodded.

"I suppose I will have to remember that with my son, Pichu," said Ash.

Artemis froze, and the white square stopped taking notes.

"You have a child? Did you have him before or after I gave you the potion?" asked Artemis, with a weird tone in his voice.

After hearing his tone, Ash was starting to re-think his answer.

"Why?" asked Ash.

All of a sudden, Artemis stood up, glided over to Ash and grabbed him at the neck, choking him.

"ANSWER ME!" shouted Artemis in Ash's ear.

Then, all of the darkness in Artemis' head turned into giant flames. Artemis hovered right over the flames, while still holding on to Ash's neck.

Ash tried to talk, but Artemis's grip on his neck didn't allow him, so he just nodded.

You wouldn't have to see Artemis' face to know that he was pissed off, you could hear the anger in his voice and the flames growing from them.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! You have just added too many variables to the experiment!" shouted Artemis.

As Artemis kept shouting and getting angrier, the flames grew higher and wider.

"The potion was going to wear off in one week! A WEEK! But now, sense you had to mate with a female, you have to wait for a year!" shouted Artemis.

_A year? A whole year? _Thought Ash.

"Yes, and now the whole human race will be erased from existence, because of you!"

Then, Artemis threw Ash into the sea of flames and watched him burn like he was in the depths of hell.

* * *

Ash woke up with a start on May's bed, sweating a little. He checked himself, making sure he was alive and unburned.

No burn marks, no burned fur.

Ash felt his neck were Artemis choked him. No signs of strangling.

Even all the wounds from the fight with Ray were gone.

_They might have just healed already_, thought Ash.

Then, Ash felt something grabbing his stomach, and squeezing all his air out.

He looked behind him to see what was grabbing him, just to realize that it was May, trying to snuggle in her sleep.

Ash needed to wake her up, so he could breath.

"M-M-May. . .w-wake. . .up!" It was hard to talk, for Ash, because May was still squeezing all of his air out of him.

Man, the times when you could use a thunder shock.

Then, May started pulling him closer to her stomach, and rested her chin on his furry head. He could hear her mummer something in her sleep, but all he got was, "I. . .ways. . .you."

Ash tried to squirm his way out, but May's grip was too strong, so he slammed his foot into May's stomach.

May woke up with a "oof".

"What the?" started May, still half asleep.

May finally let go of Ash. He took some deep breaths, grateful to be able to breath again.

"Ash?" said May, slowly waking up.

Ash took in a few more breaths and watched May try to wake up. She stretched out her arms and then her legs, sat up, then she finally noticed that Ash was breathing hard.

"Good morning, Ash. Why are you breathing so hard?" asked May.

"You were suffocating me," said Ash.

"I was?" asked May.

"Yes."

"Sorry."

Ash was now able to breath normally.

"That's okay. I see that you feel better." said Ash.

May smiled, but then remembered the Team Aqua man and what Ash was talking about.

"Ash, what happened to that Team Aqua guy?" asked May.

Ash told her about when he saved Pikachu from Team Rocket and learned a new move, and he told her the part when he had to fight Ray while Max and Nurse Joy were taking her body to the Pokecenter, when Pikachu got hurt by Ray, and the part when Misty II sacrificed her life for his.

When he was done, there was a long silence in the room as May tried to take everything in.

"You, Max, Nurse Joy, Pikachu, and Misty II did all that. . .for me?" asked May.

Ash nodded his head.

"How are Pikachu and Misty II? Are they okay?" asked May.

"Pikachu is fine. . .but, Misty II. . ." said Ash, not able to finish his sentence.

He hung his head low.

But, he pulled his head back up as he heard May, starting to cry.

"Oh, Ash! This is all my fault! cry It's because of me that everyone got hurt!" said May and started crying some more.

Then May went over and grabbed Ash and hugged him tightly.

Ash wasn't sure what to do, he thought it was his fault that everyone got hurt, including May. Apparently, May thought it was her fault.

May kept crying over Ash and kept hugging him, just like he did with Pikachu. He decided to return the hug by hugging her neck.

May held tightly to Ash and pictured him in his human body. His old, handsome, cute, body. And, for some reason, she felt as if it was her fault, along with endangering everyone, that Ash was in this Pikachu body.

As Ash held onto May's neck, he thought of everything that May must be feeling. These same emotions came to him just yesterday, so he knew how she felt.

They stood there, hugging, in silence, thinking about all their emotions and feelings and the people that got hurt because of them.

Then, May remembered the time in the prison cell.

"Ash," said May, still hugging him.

"Yes?" asked Ash, still hugging her neck.

May knew that Ash wasn't going to like the news, but she had to tell him.

"Back at the prison cell, before we were able to bring Misty II over here to have her baby, I had to-" started May, but was interrupted when Nurse Joy opened the door.

"Hello, I just came to-" said Nurse Joy.

She saw them hugging each other and the trails of tears on May's face.

"Am I interrupting something?" asked Nurse Joy.

Ash and May let go of each other and shook their heads.

"Um, okay. Well, May, it seems that you have gotten better!" said Nurse Joy.

May nodded her head and brushed away some tears.

"Why were you crying?" asked Nurse Joy.

"Um, nothing. Could I see Misty II and Pikachu?" asked May.

Nurse Joy nodded her head.

"Me too," said Ash and climbed up on May's shoulder, just like what Pikachu does when he was going somewhere.

He had some trouble climbing up May's shirt and then had some trouble trying to stay on her shoulder when she moved.

_How does Pikachu do this? _Thought Ash.

"Are you sure you want to be on my shoulder?" asked May, seeing Ash have trouble trying to stay on.

"Yea, I've got to practice anyway," said Ash.

Nurse Joy led May over to the room where Pikachu and Misty II were and let them in.

When they walked in, Pikachu was awake and smiled at the site of May being okay and his master on her shoulder.

He still had bandages on his head, but he seemed to be alright.

"Pika pikachu pi!" said Pikachu as he watched Ash jump off of May's shoulder to his bed.

"Good morning to you too!" said Ash.

"You understand him?" asked May.

"Yea, I think that sense that I'm now a Pokemon, I can understand Pokemon," explained Ash.

Nurse Joy walked up to Pikachu and felt his head a little bit, then she looked underneath some of the bandages, then placed them back.

"He seems to be getting better! There is still some swelling, so he will need to keep those bandages on. Besides that, he's just fine," said Nurse Joy and smiled.

"Pikachu pika pi," said Pikachu and scratched his head where the bandages were.

Ash laughed.

"What did he say?" asked May.

"He said that the bandages are too itchy and he can't wait to get them off," translated Ash.

May laughed a little bit too, but then she saw Misty II.

"How's Misty II?" asked May.

Nurse Joy walked over to Misty II's bed and checked some monitors around her.

Ash noticed that there was a big machine right next to Misty II. It had all kinds of pumps and hoses and gears working inside and outside of it, making some annoying noise. Misty II had some tubes and wires coming in and out of her to the machine, connecting the two together.

Nurse Joy finished checking the monitors and turned to face Ash and May.

"She was the reason why I came over to your room. The shot broke her sine and went through her stomach, releasing some stomach acid over some of her other body parts," said Nurse Joy.

Ash and May shuddered, that had to hurt.

"Because of this, she has to have this machine to keep her alive until she heals," said Nurse Joy.

Ash and May hung their heads.

"The good news is that her body is relying on the machine by only 10, and she seems to be getting better!" said Nurse Joy.

Ash and May raised their heads back as they heard the good news.

"Then, she still has a chance?" asked Ash, hopeful.

Nurse Joy nodded her head and gave another warm smile. Ash returned the smile.

Later, they were able to say good morning to Max and Brock and eat breakfast.

As Ash tried to get to his seat, he had some trouble trying to simply reach it.

"Man, the times when you wish you where human again," said Ash.

"Speaking of which, I've been counting the days and I think that tomorrow you might turn back to normal!" said Brock while picking Ash up and placing him on his chair. He did the same thing with Pikachu, who was able to eat breakfast with them.

"I don't think so, Brock," said Ash, remembering what Artemis said.

'_The potion was going to wear off in one week! A WEEK! But now, sense you had to mate with a female, you have to wait for a year!' _Artemis' words repeated in Ash's head.

"Why?" asked Brock.

Ash told them of his dream with Artemis and the questions he asked him and what he said.

"A year?!" exclaimed Max.

"A year," said Ash and sighed.

Everyone else sighed too, except Brock.

"Ash, last night I stayed up and looked on the computer for anything that matches your. . .um. . . situation," said Brock.

"What did you find?" asked Ash.

Brock motioned everyone to a computer in his room. He turned it on as everyone crowded around the monitor.

"At first, it just kept coming up with comics and books and stuff, but then I saw this," said Brock and clicked on an icon.

A page came up with the title:

Human-Pokemon Transformation Research

"I read this and it told about a scientist that wanted to transform a human into a Pokemon and vise-versa. Gess who it was," said Brock.

He scrolled down the page and reveled a photograph of the scientist that did the research.

Ash gasped at the photograph of the well known, Prof. Oak.


	8. Chapter 8

Inner Strength part 8

"What? Prof. Oak? No way!" said Ash as he looked at the screen.

"Well, apparently, yes way. Says here that he researched on it for about 20 years, then he quit," said Brock.

"Why did he quit?" asked May.

"Doesn't say," said Brock.

Ash wasn't sure if this was true. A lot of times, the internet will make up stuff for entertanment. This could just be another hoax.

"How can we be sure if this is true?" asked Ash.

"Only one way to find out," said Brock and got out of his seat.

Brock, accompanied by the other friends, walked over to the telephone and dialed Prof. Oak's number. The screen, instead of showing the professor, had a blank screen.

"Prof. Oak is not available. If you still want to talk to him, please press five and you will be put on hold. If you would like to leave a message, please press eight and say your message after the beep. Thank you," said a computer voice from the telephone.

Brock pressed five and waited.

"Please hold. Would you like to listen to some music while you wait?" said the computer voice.

As if it wasn't really a question, the telephone started playing elevator music with the blank screen.

Brock turned around and shrugged.

"I suppose that the only thing we can do is wait," said Brock.

Ash groaned, he thought he was getting a step closer to finding a cure to change him back. Plus, no one in the world likes to listen to elevator music. Just thinking about it makes him bored.

RING! RING! Alarms and red lights where turning on and warning everyone about something. Was Team Aqua back? Was someone trying to break in?

Ash saw Nurse Joy run by and slam the back of her fist on a red button on the wall. The alarms and red lights turned off, but Nurse Joy was freaking out about something.

"Oh, no! Oh, no!" said Nurse Joy.

She ran over to Misty II's room and ordered Chancy to come in with her. Was something wrong with Misty II? Ash ran over to the room, but Chancy pushed him out and closed the door.

The others came to the door of the room and looked through a small window on the door. Ash climbed up May's shirt and sat on her shoulder so he could see through the window. Pikachu did the same, but on Brock's shoulder.

Nurse Joy was giving Misty II CPR, and it didn't look like it was working. Ash was able to take a small glimpse of Misty II. Her body was still. . .too still. Her eyes were closed, as if Death walked over and closed them for her. Her stomach didn't move up and down like it used to, which means that she isn't breathing.

Nurse Joy looked up and saw them looking through the window. She shouted frantically at Chancy. The pink Pokemon walked over to the window and pulled the screen down.

"No," where the only words that could come out of Ash's mouth.

"Ash, don't worry. Nurse Joy has had worst stuff than this," reassured Brock.

Ash could only hang his head low. He feared the worst.

The only thing they could do now, like Brock said, is wait. Ash didn't want to wait. After exactly ten minuets, thirty-two seconds, and nine milliseconds (Ash sat in front of the clock and counted) Nurse Joy walked out of Misty II's room. One of her hands had a small towel and was using it to wipe off her sweat.

Ash walked up to her to see if everything was all right, but her face wasn't happy.

"Is she okay?" asked Ash.

Nurse Joy's face turned solemn.

"She had a heart attack, and it was a close one too. Very close. Plus, she seems to have gotten much worst: Her body is now relying on the machine for more than 91. She's hardly doing anything by herself," said Nurse Joy.

Her face hung low and she looked into Ash's eyes.

"If she stays like this until tomorrow. . .I'll have to pull the plug," said Nurse Joy.

Ash stood still, shocked. It was as if someone walked up to him and stabbed him in the heart.

_She's going to die! _The thought hung in his head.

Ash looked into Nurse Joy's eyes, hoping to see hope. . .but there wasn't any.

"Nurse Joy, can I see her?" asked Ash.

"Of course. Right now, she's awake. The heart attack woke her up," said Nurse Joy and led Ash to Misty II's room.

It felt like walking into a funeral, but instead of the person being dead, everyone was waiting for her to die. Ash climbed up on Misty II's bed and saw that she was awake, but she was laying down and had trouble breathing.

* * *

"Ash? Is that you?" asked Misty II, who was still laying on her bed. Sense Ash was a Pokemon, he could understand what she was saying.

She turned her head to look at him. She tried to forced out a small, hurtful smile.

"Yea, it's me," said Ash.

He walked closer to her on the bed so she could see him better. She gave another smile, but flinched from the pain of doing so.

"What did the girl human say? Am I going to be okay?" asked Misty II.

Ash hung his head low, but forced out a smile.

"Y-yes. She said that you're going to be better by tomorrow," lied Ash. He didn't want to worry her.

Misty II looked at him with her amber eyes, cutting deep into his soul and finding the truth. She smiled.

"Liar," she said.

That one word cut deep into Ash. She knew by the look in his eyes. She knew that she was going to die. Oh, how that must feel!

"Ash, could you tell me something?" asked Misty II.

"Of course, anything," said Ash.

Ash looked back at Nurse Joy and asked her to leave. She did so and closed the door behind her.

"But, you have to tell me the truth. Don't lie to me again like you did before," said Misty II.

Ash nodded. Of course he would tell her anything, she was dying! Anything seemed so little right now.

Misty II, again, looked deeply into Ash's eyes, searching for the truth.

"Do you love me?"

Ash had to think about that one.

"Yes," answered Ash.

Misty II kept digging her eyes into his.

"Not like a friend, but like, what the humans call, a wife."

Ash considered this. She was cornering him, and this is one of the worst times for it. He thought it was best to tell her the truth. He sighed and held his head low.

"No."

Misty II didn't get angry, she didn't start crying, she didn't even look surprised!

"I thought so. I kept denying it, but now I know for sure."

Her words struck Ash in the back._ She knew?_

"If you knew, than why did you still try to kiss me and everything?" asked Ash.

"Even though you didn't love me, I still loved you," answered the dying Pikachu.

Misty II looked away from Ash. She seemed to be pondering something.

"I remember my mother. She always told me to find that special someone. And, when you do, you shall have the gift of seeing a new life. I never knew what she meant by that, but now I know."

She slowly turned her head towards Ash again.

"I knew that there was something different about you, maybe that's why I fell in love with you."

_She has no idea how different I am_, thought Ash.

"I could tell that you where trying to avoid me, but I kept denying it." She stopped, thinking. " I wanted to have a son, so I could experience the feeling of being a mother."

Ash remembered holding Pichu in his arms and feeling those same emotions. The happiness of seeing a new child, a new beginning, and to be able to hold him. Ash felt new emotions coming out of him as he pondered Misty II's words.

He remembered how he was able to defeat Ray, it was the love from having a son. Being able to see his eyes in Pichu's body.

"Could I ask you something else?" asked Misty II.

Her words ripped Ash from his thoughts, and he was able to listen.

"Of course. What else do you need to know?" said Ash.

Misty II started to drift off in her thoughts, thinking deeply about something. She slowly tried to sit up in her bed, while groans of pain come out of her mouth, and looked back at Ash.

"Could I see our new life that we have made? One last time?"

Her words made her sound like she was ready to die at any moment. Was she giving up hope? Or was she just simply ready?

"Sure. . .I'll go get him," said Ash and walked out of Misty II's room and into Pichu's.

There, he could see his son, still asleep, but lovable as ever. He carefully picked up Pikchu's sleeping body, making sure not to wake him up or to let him get hurt. His son squirmed some, but soon got snug in his father's chest, who slowly walked back over to Misty II's room.

Max, May, and Brock where in Brock's separate room, still trying to find more information on Prof. Oak's research, while waiting for that same person to pick up the phone.

Ash slowly opened the door to Misty II's room, then closed it as he walked in. Misty II was still sitting up in her bed, waiting for her son. Ash climbed up the bed (with some difficulty, it's hard to climb while holding someone in your other arm) and walked over to Misty II.

He handed Pichu to her and watched her embrace the new life in her arms. She started crying. Not only tears of sadness, but also of joy. She was happy to see her son one last time, but she was sad that this will be the last time.

"Oh, Pichu. . .I love you. . ."

More trails of tears rolled over her red cheek and yellow chin.

"If only I could see your eyes before I leave. . ." said Misty II and started crying again.

The tears soon overflowed her chin so much that a drop fell on Pichu. The wetness woke the offspring up, and he started to squirm.

"Look! He's waking up!" said Misty II in excitement.

Pichu slowly half-opened one eye, trying to get used to the brightness of the lights, and slowly opened the other. Misty II looked deep into Pichu's eyes just as she had done with Ash's. She looked back at Ash and started smiling again.

"He has your eyes!" said Misty II.

Ash nodded. He has seen them before.

"Oh! He's looking at you!" realized Misty II.

Ash looked at his son to see that he was looking at him. Pichu's eyes where staring at Ash, as if he was confused or curious about Ash. Misty II smiled once again at the sight of father and son already having a family bond.

"Ash," said Misty II.

"Yes?" said Ash.

"Could you do one last thing for me?"

"Of course."

Misty II looked down at her son and his beautiful eyes.

"I will never be able to rest unless our Pichu is loved and cared for. Could you do that for me? While I'm gone?" asked Misty II.

Ash nodded his head. Misty II looked deeply into his eyes again, trying to force out the truth.

"Will you never stop loving and caring him?" asked Misty II, he eyes digging into Ash's.

"I will never stop," promised Ash.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Pinky Swear?"

Misty II held up a weak hand, then pointed out a small yellow pinky. Ash was confused at how a Pikachu would know about Pinky Swears, even his Pikachu didn't know about it.

Misty II saw his face and decided to explain. Not all Pokemon knew about it, and she still thought he was a Pokemon.

"It's like an unbreakable promise. My old trainer taught me this. You just stick out your pinky and I'll do the rest," said Misty II.

Ash held out his pinky and let Misty wrap hers around his.

"Pinky Swear?"

"Pinky Swear."

* * *

Ash closed the door on the way out of the room. May was waiting for him near the tables, apparently, bored of looking up research stuff on the computer.

"You okay?" asked May.

Ash looked up into her human eyes. He had no hope for Misty II to live, but he had new hope for her to rest in peace.

"I'm fine right now," said Ash.

Ash found a comfy chair, climbed up on it, and laid down on it. May pick up Ash off the chair so she could sit on it, sat down, then laid Ash on her lap. Ash let her do this and curled up and got comfy. _So this is why Pikachu sleeps like this sometimes, it's a very comfortable position! _Thought Ash.

May started petting Ash's furry head and let him curl up into a ball. Ash felt her warm hand pet his head, and it felt good. It was like every stroke that she made, stroked away his worries and brought in relaxation.

"Ash, I have to tell you something," said May while still petting him. She had to tell him about Team Magma.

"What?" asked Ash, sort of lazily because of May petting him.

"You're not going to like it, but I had to do it," said May.

Ash started listening more closely now.

"Is this about Team Magma at the prison cell?" asked Ash.

"Yes."

"Well, go on."

May stopped petting Ash's head so he could listen better. Ash didn't want her to stop, but let her tell him what happened.

May gulped and took in a deep breath.

"I joined Team Magma in order to get Misty II to a Pokecenter," said May, kind of fast. She wanted to get it over with.

Ash wasn't sure of what to think.

"Are you kidding?" asked Ash, hopping that she was.

May hung her head down and shook it. Ash didn't like this one bit, but he understood.

"You where right, I don't like it, but I guess that you did it for the right reasons," said Ash.

May was socked at Ash's answer. She expected him to get mad or refuse their friendship or something, but he seemed to accept it.

"You mean. . .you're not mad?" asked May.

"Of course not. You're my friend and you had no choice. Team Magma isn't a very negotiable organization. You either gave them what they want or suffer the consequences, we both know that. That is why I'm sure that you had reasons to join them. I don't like it, but you did it for the right cause. I just hope that they will go easy on you and will let you go soon," said Ash.

May smiled, happy that Ash understands. She began to pet Ash again on his head, as Ash went slowly off to sleep.

But, that very small cat-nap didn't last long. Someone came to the door of the Pokecenter. This person was about in his late twenties, male, red hair, vampire white skin, and black clothes. Only black clothes. Nurse Joy saw him come in and walked over to her desk to greet him.

"Hello and welcome to our Pokecenter. Can I help you with anything?" asked Nurse Joy.

The red haired person walked over to Nurse Joy's desk and nodded.

"Could you heal this one?" asked the red haired person while taking out a Pokeball.

"Only one?" asked Nurse Joy.

"Only one."

Nurse Joy took the Pokeball and placed it on the healing machine.

"And, there's something else I need help with," said the red haired person, while his Pokemon was still being healed.

"What is it?" asked Nurse Joy.

"Is there a girl around here that goes by the name of 'May'?" asked the red head.

May stopped petting Ash as she heard her name called. An odd chill in the air.

May picked Ash off her lap so she could stand up, then she set him down.

"That's me," said May.

The red head turned around to look at May. Then, he walked up to her and stuck out a hand to shake.

"My name is Kirk. Please to meet you," said the red haired, Kirk.

"You too. . .um, Kirk," said May and grabbed his hand to shake.

But, when she grabbed it, a small shot of pain came into her hand. She quickly pulled her hand away from Kirk. Ash saw everything, so he got in front of May and got in his stance.

Kirk, however, looked as if nothing had happened or as if he was used to seeing her reaction. His face was blank and seemed emotionless when May pulled her hand away.

"Sorry about that. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn't," said Kirk.

May looked at her hand. It seemed okay, but it still stung a little.

"What did you do?" asked May.

Kirk took a small step closer to May.

"We need to make sure that you'll keep your side of the deal," said Kirk.

"What deal?" asked Ash.

Kirk looked down at Ash in his Pikachu body.

"I've heard reports of a talking Pikachu and I suppose that would be you, now wouldn't it?" said Kirk.

Ash looked away and stopped talking. He needs to stop before more people get suspicious.

Kirk rolled up one of his sleeves to reveal the Team Magma sign in the form of a tatu. After May and Ash were able to see it and know what it meant, Kirk unrolled his sleeve to cover it back up.

"Now you know. I'm a representative of Team Magma and I'm here to tell you what you need to do," said Kirk.

"You still haven't told me what you did to my hand," said May.

Kirk walked up to May and grabbed her hurt hand. He twisted it to where May could see her palm. She felt a little pain from the twisting motion, but she was able to see what he was trying to show her. On her palm was a tiny, black dot, not even bigger than the tip of a pen.

"What I have injected into your palm was poison," said Kirk while still holding May's twisted hand.

May and Ash gasped.

"No, no. You won't die, yet. It's contained. . .for now. But, if you don't do what we tell you, then we will press a button and release the poison, which will kill you in a matter of minuets," explained Kirk.

He let go of May's hand.

"What do you want me to do?" asked May.

Kirk smiled a vampire-like smile that sent chills down May's and Ash's spine.

"We need you to find where Team Aqua is hiding," said Kirk.

"How do we do that? It's almost impossible to find them," said May.

Kirk shrugged.

"Why do you think we're making you find them?" said Kirk.

May pondered that, but Kirk went on.

"If you do find them, call us and we'll tell you what to do next."

"How do I call you?"

Kirk pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and tossed to May. She caught it and flipped it open. There where only three buttons on the cell phone: 1, 2, and 3.

"'Three' is the speed dial number to HQ, 'two' calls the number, and you have to press 'one' on the forth ring," said Kirk.

May nodded, closed the phone, and put it in her bag. There was a DING at the Pokemon healing machine where Kirk's Pokemon was being healed, and was apparently done. He walked over to Nurse Joy, who gave him back his Pokeball, and walked to the door.

Before he opened the door, though, he looked back at May.

"Find Team Aqua, call us, do what we tell you, and you just might be set free from Team Magma."

He opened the door and walked outside. May watched him through a near by window. She saw him take out his Pokeball and release his Pokemon inside of it. It was a small Ralts. He told the Ralts to do something (May couldn't hear) and then, Ralts teleported both of them away.

"Okay. . .can this day get any weirder?" said Ash.

As if on cue, Ash could hear Prof. Oak's voice on the telephone.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" said the professor.

"Brock! Max! Come over here! Prof. Oak finally answered the phone!" shouted Ash as he ran over to the phone.

Brock and Max came out of their room and walked over to the telephone that had a picture of the well-known Prof. Oak.

"Brock? Is that you?" asked Prof. Oak as he saw Brock come to the telephone.

"Yea, it's me."

"Who are your new friends?" asked the professor after seeing May and Max come into view.

"I'm Max, nice to meet you."

"I'm May."

"Well, hello to both of you. But, tell me, where is Ash? It has been a long time sense I've seen him," said the professor.

"That's the reason why we called you," said Brock.

Ash was still on the floor and couldn't see the screen of the telephone, so Brock picked him up to where he and the professor could see each other. Prof. Oak was confused at seeing the Pikachu.

"Why are you showing Pikachu to me? And why is he wearing Ash's hat? He doesn't go anywhere without it," said Prof. Oak.

"No, you see, this is Ash," said Brock.

The professor gave a little smile and started to chuckle.

"Nice try! But, I'm much smarter than you think!" said the professor.

"No! Really! This is Ash! Ash, say something!" said Brock.

Ash scratched the back of his head and gave a weak smile.

"H-hi professor," said Ash.

Prof. Oak stopped chuckling, and looked closely at Ash.

"That voice. . .Ash?" asked the professor.

"Yep, it's me. Now that you know that I'm a Pikachu, can you change me back?" asked Ash.

"Why me? How would I know that?" asked Prof. Oak.

"Because we found out that you have been researching how to transform humans into Pokemon," answered Brock.

Oak wasn't happy about hearing that.

"How do you know that?" asked Oak.

"Internet," answered Brock.

Oak turned away and started murmuring things to himself. He, then, turned back towards them.

"Those where the worst years of my life and I'm not going back!" said Oak.

"Why? What did you do?" asked Ash, who was still being held by Brock.

The professor looked away for a second, his memories coming back.

"I've hurt too many Pokemon in those experiments," said the professor as his hauting memories came back.

"Why did you research it, then?" asked May.

"Some Pokemon have healing abilities and others have curing abilities. I wanted to make a human that could possibly heal itself and cure itself of any virus, but all I've made. . .did the opposite," said Oak.

"What happened?" asked Ash.

The professor took in a deep breath as his horrid memories came back.

"At first, it seemed impossible for it not to work, but they kept dying. Lungs too small to support the body, blood refused to fuse, the heart was too weak to pump the blood. . .even the brain did know how to work the new body," he sighed. "But, even after all those mistakes, I kept trying. I eventually got used to seeing a experiment dying, because it happened so many times. Mistake after mistake after mistake, and I thought that I had it perfected." He shook his head at remembering his mistakes. "I got a Evee," started the professor. Everyone listened with anticipation.

"So, I got the Evee ready. I placed him in the machine and waited to see wonderful results. . .it was the exact opposite." Oak stopped again at recalling those horrible memories that he has tried to forget. "Ingrown hair all around the body, lungs refused to expand and breath oxygen, heart was too small and weak to pump the body's blood, parts of the skin were inside-out, eyes were swollen and completely dried up, the list is endless," finished the professor.

He stopped, letting his words sink into everyone's head. They were silent. So, Oak went on.

"After seeing my last experiment die from not even being able to support its own body, I called the research off. But, my apprentice wanted to keep going. He said that we were ready to start human experimenting, but I declined and told him to call it all off. He still wanted to do it, so we went our separate ways. I burned and deleted all my files and data, and my apprentice went somewhere on his own. That was the last time we saw each other," finished the professor.

"Wait, you had an apprentice? Who was he?" asked Ash.

Oak scratched his chin and tried to remember the name.

"Arthimous James, but his name was too long, so most people called him Artemis," said Prof. Oak.

Every stood there, shocked. _Could it be? _Thought Ash.

After all this time, could the person that started all of this be the apprentice of Prof. Oak? That could explain a lot, but he used a potion, not machines.

"Did Artemis know anything about magic?" asked May.

Oak scratched his chin again, thinking.

"I do remember finding him studying the ways of magic, yes. Sometimes, he suggested to combine magic with the science we knew," said Oak.

_Bingo._

"Why do you ask?" asked the professor.

"Just curious," said May, but was eyed by the professor.

"Back to the point, can you or can you not change me back?" asked Ash.

"Did you not just hear what I said? All my experiments died and there's no way I'm going back!" stomped the professor.

It seemed that the professor wasn't going to do it that easily. But, Ash needed him to do it so he could go back to his life and help May out with Team Magma and Aqua.

"Please, professor! Just please try! I need to turn back!" said Ash.

The professor leaned back on a near by chair and pondered it. Ash was in a pickle. . .Maybe just this once. Then, he nodded his head. If Brock wasn't holding Ash right now, he would have jumped for joy.

"Fine, I'll do this one time, just for you. But, you'll have to come here so I can examen you," said the professor.

"How do we do that?" asked Ash.

"Just like you do with all your Pokemon, Ash. Put yourself in a Pokeball and teleport yourself here," suggested Oak.

"Me? Go into a Pokeball?" thought Ash out loud.

Brock placed Ash back on the floor while Max pulled out a Pokeball.

"Ash, just try not to fight it, that way you can stay in the Pokeball until you're at the professor's," said Max, still holding the empty Pokeball.

"Okay, but this doesn't count as your first caught Pokemon," said Ash.

Everyone laughed.

Max threw the Pokeball at Ash and hoped that it would work. The Pokeball hit Ash on the head with a TONK.

"Ouch."

Then, the Pokeball backed away and turned Ash into a red beam of light. The light swirled into the Pokeball, then the Pokeball closed. It started squirming as the white button kept flashing, signaling that Ash has not been "caught" yet. Soon, the white button stopped flashing and the Pokeball stood still.

Max picked up the Pokeball and smiled.

"My first caught Pokemon," said Max.

"I heard that!" said the muffled voice of Ash inside the Pokeball.

"You can hear me? Even inside this?" asked Max.

"Yea. So, could you possibly give me to Prof. Oak. I've got all day," said the sarcastic and muffled voice of Ash.

Max placed Ash's Pokeball on the teleporter next to the phone. Everyone watched as the Pokeball disappeared from view, then reappeared on the telephone screen.

"Okay, now to get Ash out. Ash, come on out!" said the professor as he threw the Pokeball.

The Pokeball hit the top of Oak's desk and released Ash. When Ash was out, he was awestruck for some reason.

"Ash, what's wrong?" asked the professor.

"That was cool!" said Ash, apparently his answer.

The professor shook his head.

"Now, let me take a look at you."

Oak started to feel Ash's fur, check his temperature, check his pulse, tested if his pupils were contrasting right, took a sample of blood, etc. Then, Oak noticed the microchip on Ash's head.

"Ash, what is this?"

"I'm not real sure. Team Aqua put this in my head and used it to give me headaches."

"What is this?" asked the professor while about to press the red button on the microchip.

Ash slapped his hand away before he could press it.

"Don't touch that button! Trust me."

"Um, okay. Let me at least take a look at this microchip."

As Oak looked at it, Ash noticed that he did the same things Artemis did when he looked at it. Turned his head this way and that, murmured stuff that he saw to himself. Maybe Artemis was Prof. Oak's apprentice.

Then, Oak stopped looking at it and stared at Ash.

"This has tracking parts in it," said the professor.

"What do you mean?" asked Ash.

Oak walked over to the telephone (which Brock, Max, and May where still watching through) and told them that he'll call them later and turned it off. Then, he got some wires and stuck them on Ash's microchip.

"What I mean is that someone could be tracking you right now," said Oak.

A tracking device? Does Team Aqua know where he's at? That could explain how they kept finding him.

"Do you know where they are tracking me?" asked Ash. _Maybe the professor could help us to find Team Aqua. That way, May might be free of Team Magma._

"That's what I'm doing right now," explained Oak while turning on some machines that were now connected to Ash, thanks to all of the wires.

The machines blinked to life and one projected a holographic map of the world. Ash watched as it slowly zoomed in at areas that Team Aqua could be at. Soon, the holographic map zoomed into a spot and stopped. Ash wasn't able to see the spot because of the angle he was in.

"Oh, my," said the professor.

"What? What is it? Did you find where it was?" asked Ash.

The professor turned slowly and looked at Ash. His face filled with fear and awe.

"They're here. . .in Pallet Town," said Prof. Oak of Pallet Town.


	9. Chapter 9

Inner Strength part 9

"Here? In Pallet Town?!" asked Ash, even though he already knew the answer.

Prof. Oak slowly nodded his head while still gazing at the holographic map. He then walked up to the machine that made the map and pressed some buttons. The machine blinked a little and turned the holographic map off. After about two seconds, the map came back, but with the word SEARCHING in bold, red letters across the map.

Ash watched as the map kept zooming in at spots that could hold Team Aqua. It zoomed in again, and again, and again, and again, until Ash had to look away from the map to try to keep his head from spinning. All that zooming in must have made him dizzy somehow.

"Target found," said a computerized voice from the machine that projected the map.

Prof. Oak stared at the map with question and wonder.

"That's impossible," muttered the professor to himself.

"What? What's impossible?" asked Ash, unable to see clearly from his angle and his dizzy head.

Oak reached out a hand to press a button. When he did, the same computerized voice came back and said, "Error. Unable to locate exact location."

Oak pulled his hand away from the machine and kept staring.

Ash couldn't take it. If the professor wouldn't tell him what he was seeing, then he would have to do it himself. He tore off all the wires and plugs that connected him from the machine and jumped down from the table. He ran over to were the professor stood and looked up at the hologram.

Blue. All he could see was blue. Could it have been water? Could it be the sky? It had to be the sky because the only water source near here was a small river. But if it was the sky, where were the clouds? It was a darker blue than sky blue. Could Team Aqua be in the river?

"Where are they?" asked Ash.

"Somewhere in this area," replied Oak.

"You mean, the river near here?" asked Ash.

Oak nodded once again.

Ash still didn't get it. It wasn't uncommon for Team Aqua to be in the water (after all their name is "aqua"), but it was impossible for them to put anything in this water. Ash remembered swimming and playing in that river, so he knew that it was just too shallow for any kind of building or head quarters to be in it without sticking out of the water.

"That's impossible," said Ash.

"That's what I said."

The professor finally looked away from the map and looked at Ash.

"It might have been a disturbance in the radio signals, some kind of solar flare, or maybe even a distraction," said Oak.

"A distraction?" asked Ash.

"Yes. Whoever is tracking you, might be making false signals and therefor sending us into a wild goose chase. However, if this is where they really are, then we should take a look," finished the professor.

"Take a look? How?" asked Ash.

Oak rolled his eyes.

"Ash, have you not learned anything during your Pokemon journey? What would you do if you wanted to check what's in the water?"

Ash thought about it.

_Okay, even though I'm a Pokemon right now, I'm still a Pokemon trainer. I still have to think like the trainer I am._

Ash thought some more. Then, he looked at Oak.

"Maybe if I send a water type Pokemon, he could swim down into the river and see if anything is down there," said Ash with confidence.

Oak smiled and patted Ash on his hat, covered head.

"That's the Ash I know."

Ash returned the smile, but then remembered his friends.

"Professor, what about my friends at the Pokecenter?"

"Don't worry, Ash. I'll call them right now and tell them to wait for my helicopter to pick them up," said Oak while making his way to the telephone.

"Wait. . .you have a helicopter?" asked Ash, amazed.

Oak gave Ash another smile.

"I'm a scientist, remember? I have to get to places quick if something occurs, even if it's on the other side of the world," explained Oak.

Ash just stared in amassment. _Man, I must have been away from home longer than I thought!_

Then, Ash remembered Misty II.

"Wait, Professor!"

Oak heard the urgency in Ash's voice and turned around to face him.

"I have a friend who is dying over there. I can't just leave her," said Ash. He looked away from the professor and remembered what Nurse Joy said.

"_If she stays like this until tomorrow. . .I'll have to pull the plug." _Those words hung in his head, haunting him, telling him that it was only a matter of time before his life savior would die.

"Which friend is it?" asked Oak, concerned.

Ash remembered when he first met Misty II. He thought that she was just going to be a thorn in his toe. Just another person to make his life miserable. Now, she has not made his life miserable, but instead saved his life! She was not a thorn, but now a mother! How could he have despised her in the first place?

"Her name is Misty II," said Ash.

"Misty's dying?!" asked the professor in shock.

"No, not that Misty," said Ash while shaking his head. The professor relaxed. "This other Misty is a Pikachu."

"A Pikachu? What happened to your first Pikachu?"

"I still have him (of course), it's just that this Pikachu saved my life and now she's dying for doing so. It just doesn't feel right for me to leave her," explained Ash.

Oak understood. After all, he was a Pokemon scientist who also helped new trainers get to their feet. The bond between humans and Pokemon is strong, so this bond between Ash and this "Misty II" is not unheard of. In fact, even he has heard of reports of Pokemon saving either their trainer or a friend's life.

However, he couldn't let Ash leave. Not just yet.

"I understand how you might feel, Ash, but I cannot let you go back to that Pokecenter. I still need you so that I can find a way to change you back," said Oak.

Ash didn't say anything. Would he risk getting changed back over seeing his life savior die? Either way, Misty II was not going to live. Ash knew this too well.

Prof. Oak turned around and turned on the phone. He dialed the call back number and told everyone to wait to be picked up. Ash didn't bother to listen. He needed some time alone. He walked back to the table and started thinking about what has been happening around him.

_First, I get changed into a Pokemon. Second, I meet a Pikachu who falls in love with me. Third, I find out that the original Misty is working for an evil organization against her will. Fourth, that same organization came and almost killed Pikachu and May. Fifth. . .that Pikachu that fell in love with me is now dying because she chose my life over her's._

Ash kept repeating these things in his head, even though it just made him feel more down. The professor was already done talking to everyone at the Pokecenter and was now making his way back over to Ash. He grabbed a pair of scissors off another table and looked at Ash.

"I need a couple samples of your DNA. So, just hold still for a moment," said Oak.

He didn't need to ask Ash to hold still, for he was already doing so. Oak took off Ash's hat and cut off a little bit of his yellow hair on his head. Then, he cut some hair off his tail and around his ears. Luckily, he only cut small portions, otherwise, Ash's fur might have looked like a lawn that someone decided to cut with a weed eater.

Even if that happened, Ash wouldn't have cared. This was nothing compared to what Pikachu and Misty II had to go through.

When Oak was satisfied with the amount of hair, he placed the scissors down and scooped up the hair for examination. Ash stayed in his little spot on the table, waiting for the professor to come back and finish his process.

After about two hours of waiting, Oak came back to Ash. Now, he was holding a shot.

"Okay, now I need some blood samples. Keep holding still so that I can do this quickly," said Oak.

When he pressed the small needle into Ash's furry, yellow skin, Ash could not feel it. The pain that usually came with the shot was now distant. He was too swelled in his thoughts to even pay attention to what the professor was doing. This is so little compared to what everyone has sacrificed for him.

As the small tube filled with blood, Oak tried to think of words for comfort. He could see all the hope drown out of Ash like water draining out of a sink. However, he could not think of the right ones. So, he just proceeded with taking the blood sample.

When he was done, he asked Ash if he needed a band-aid to cover the small wound. Ash said, "No, thank you," and sat still on the table once again. Oak silently walked back to his computer and got the sample ready to examine.

_If it took a little over an hour last time, it will take another long hour again, _Ash thought. So, he decided to jump off the table and have a look around. He needed his mind to be on something else.

He waked on the cold metal floor, letting the hardness ooze into his feet, making them slightly sore. As he walked, he watched some of the computers BEEP and BOOP and whorl around graphs on their screens. He walked over to some cabinets that held what seemed like thousands of Pokeballs. They seemed to be lonely, sitting their and collecting dust. Did this happen to all the Pokemon that could no longer stay with their trainers? Ash thought about all the Pokemon he left here.

Na! The professor gives them a life of luxury here. He lets them run around and play with all the other Pokemon left here. Yea. Besides, he still gets to see them every now and then. These Pokemon in their Pokeballs on the shelf must have just gotten tired and are sleeping.

Right?

Ash kept walking around. Soon he came to the exact same spot where he first started his journey and met Pikachu. Ah, he could remember it like it was yesterday. Amazing how when someone first hates you then later becomes your best friend. Ash chuckled.

He and Pikachu didn't meet in one of the best ways. In fact, he wasn't even supposed to get Pikachu. He was supposed to get either a Bulbasor, Squirtle, or a Charmander. Luckily, they were all taken by other trainers, so Ash had to pick Pikachu. He never regretted that day.

They didn't start out very happy with each other. Pikachu always wanted to keep his distance from Ash on their first day together, and Ash wasn't getting a good start on his journey. But, when the army of Sperrows came after them, Ash had to save his new friend. And, in the process, he also met Misty. . .and her bike.

Misty. . .boy did Ash miss her and longed to be with her without Team Aqua or any other organization interfering. Ash looked down at his hands. The fur on his hands where slightly wet from sweat. What was this? It's not hot in this room.

_Every time I think about her, I get this. . .feeling. . .This weird, new feeling. Is this. . .? _Thought Ash.

Ash pulled his hands down. No, how could he feel this when she's working for Team Aqua?

_She didn't join on her free will,_ said his conscious.

She could have lied.

_She wouldn't lie to me. I think that she has to same feelings as I do._

No, she can't and neither can you. Or have you forgotten that you're not a human?

Ash looked at himself. What if he's stuck like this forever? What if he can't change back? How would Misty feel?

"Attention, Mr. Kechum. Your friends are here. Please meet them at the back, thank you," said Prof. Oak over the intercom. His words ripped Ash from his thoughts, and he made his way to the back.

* * *

The propellers started to slow their movement as the gang got out of the helicopter. First May, then Brock, then Max (who was cradling something), then Pikachu. Ash was just coming out of the building as they were walking out.

"Ash!" shouted May's voice over the sound of the propellers.

"Pika!" shouted Pikachu.

Ash smiled at the sight of his friends. Even though it's been only a couple of hours, he was glad they were reunited. He couldn't have done anything without them.

That reminded him of his son. Had he forgotten?!

"Guys, what about Pichu?" asked Ash. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten his own son!

"We thought that you would be worried about him," said Brock and let Max walk over to Ash.

In Max's cradled arms was Pichu. The loud noise of the helicopter must have woken him up. His eyes where open and looking curiously around him, wandering, learning, and examining.

Ash reach out his arms in a gesture for Max to give Pichu to him, but Max wanted to show Ash something first.

"Ash, watch this," said Max and gently placed Pichu on the ground. By now, the propellers of the helicopter have slowed down.

The small Pichu looked at the ground. He touched it, feeling the rough cement, then slowly got up to his four feet. He looked up at his father and made a cute, baby smile.

_Was he going to walk? _Thought Ash. He was! At the sight of his father, Pichu slowly took a wobbly step with his front foot. He lifted up his hind leg, but almost tripped on losing his balance._ Come on, you can do it!_ Pichu quickly regained his balance and tried again with his hind leg. This time, he moved it quickly forward to not lose balance again. Then, he moved his other leg forward, then the hind leg behind that leg, and repeated the process.

"He's walking! He's walking!" said Ash, filled with happiness. His son has learned to walk! All on his own.

Pichu repeated the slow, wobbly process of walking on fours and eventually got to Ash. Ash picked up his son and cradled him in his arms.

"Good job, Pichu," whispered Ash into his son's yellow ear.

"Chuuu," said Pichu, not really a word, but just a sound of happiness at hearing his father's words.

Ash looked up to his friends.

"You knew that he could walk?" asked Ash.

"Well, Nurse Joy did. She said that she laid him down on the floor to quickly get him something to eat. When she turned around, he was on his feet, trying to walk! She told us this and said that most baby Pichu's learn to walk when they're about a week old, never one day," explained Max.

Ash looked back at his son, who had his eyes on him.

"Ash, he's smarter than most Pokemon. Did you see him when he was on the ground? He was curious! A child at that age only thinks about food and attention, and yet he was wandering about what was around himself," said Brock.

Brock out of all people would know about young, baby Pokemon. After all, he wanted to be the best Pokemon breeder. Ash stared at his son.

_Could this be the human part of him? _Ash thought.

Then, Oak came out of the building and walked up to the gang.

"Hello there! My, my, Brock! You've grown so much sense we've last met," said the professor and shook Brock's hand.

"You must be May. Welcome to Pallet Town." He shook May's hand.

"And you are. . ."

"Max."

"I'm sorry. So much has happened that I couldn't even remember your name," said Prof. Oak. Max said that it was okay and shook the professor's hand.

Pikachu walked up to the professor with a smile.

"Ah, Pikachu. It's good to see you again in person. . .or Pokemon. My, it only seems like yesterday when I was giving you to Ash as a starter Pokemon," said Oak and petted Pikachu.

Pikachu smiled and gave him a happy "Cha!". Oak shifted his gaze back to Ash, who was still holding Pichu.

"You haven't told me about a Pichu, Ash," said Oak.

Ash looked down at his son. The intelligent Pichu was waving his hands around and examining them with much interest.

"Prof. Oak, this is my son, Pichu."

Oak stood in shock. A human having a Pokemon offspring? It's never heard of.

"If I wasn't seeing you as a Pikachu, then I probably wouldn't have believed you. Is it true?" asked the professor, mostly asking Ash's friends.

Everyone nodded their heads. Oak scratched his head in disbelief.

"First I have a trainer turned into a Pokemon, now I have the same trainer with a Pokemon for a son. That's not even including the microchip and the people tracking him," said Oak.

"I guess a lot has happened," said Ash. He looked back at Pichu.

_So many things have happened._

"Well. . ." Oak was looking around for support from the others. "How has all this happened?"

"Might as well go inside and take a seat, Professor. We have a long story to tell," said Brock.

They all walked back inside the lab and told Oak the story.

* * *

Five hundred yards away, the human Misty watched Ash and his gang walk into the lab through binoculars. She gabbed her walky-talky and placed it close to her mouth.

"It's confirmed. They're here."

She placed her walky-talky back on the holster on her belt. She didn't want to do it. She didn't want to tell them, but what could she do? If she didn't tell them, they would eventually find out on their own and punish her for not telling the truth. She remembered the others that were punished for not obeying their orders.

She shuddered.

She had no choice, she just hoped that Ash would be okay and wont get hurt.

She placed the binoculars back to her eyes. They where inside, but she could see just the head of Ash through a window.

Ash.

Misty remembered the times they had together, when he was a human. It seems like forever sense they had last met. Even today, she misses him.

Misty took the binoculars off and looked at her arms. They were filled with goose-bumps.

What was this? Every time she thought about Ash, her arms would become filled with goose-bumps. Maybe it's just cold outside. Or was it?

What was this feeling? This feeling that she never had.

Or. . .maybe she always had it. Maybe this feeling is just trying to finally be noticed, after years of being ignored.

Has she been ignoring it? Or did she just get used to it? That could explain why she can't control it now, sense Ash has been gone for so long.

She shook her head. He's a Pikachu now, how could she fall for a Pikachu?

_The potion will wear off, just like last time. By then, you'll be out of Team Aqua and become free as a Butterfree._

She hooked the binoculars to her belt and started heading back to the river.

_Be safe, Ash._

* * *

When everyone was finished with their part of the story, the room was filled with quietness as they waited for their words to sink into Prof. Oak.

"So let me get this strait," said Oak with a finger pointed up. "While all of you were trying to get to the next town, you accidently went into a 'fake town' and met someone whom you believe is my apprentice." He waited for the nods. They came.

"Then, Artemis changed Ash into his current form. After that, the only choice all of you had was to keep walking to the next town, which is where Ash met 'Misty II' and ran into this 'Team Aqua'." More nods. "And that was where Ash mated-"

"Kissed," corrected Ash. It sounded weird for people to say that he mated with a Pokemon, even though he did.

"Was where Ash. . .kissed the female Pikachu that you have named 'Misty II' and found out that the original Misty is a member of 'Team Aqua'." Oak took a deep breath to get ready for the rest of the story, but Brock raised a hand.

"I think you get the point, Professor," said Brock. Oak released the held in air.

"But, no one has told me what you have found out here," said May.

Oak got back up and walked over to the machine with the holographic map while the others followed.

He pointed at the map and indicated the river.

"I used the microchip in Ash's head to track the people whom you call 'Team Aqua'. According to this, they're in the river near this town," explained Oak.

May looked closely at the map.

"But. . .I don't see it," she said.

"Exactly. We don't know if this is a trick or not, so we need to check. If this is where Team Aqua is hiding, then you all should come back here and think of a plan before you burst in there without knowing what to do next," said Oak.

Everyone nodded their heads.

Ash was still holding Pichu in his arms.

"What about Pichu? And Misty II?" asked Ash.

"I'll take care of Pichu while you check the river. If the organization is in the river, I'll continue to look after him. As for the female Pikachu, Nurse Joy can take care of her. I told you that already," said Oak.

Ash thought about the dying form of Misty II.

"I know, but I still worry about her. I know what's going to happen," said Ash, gloomy.

The professor tried to think of words for encouragement, but found none.

Then, there was a loud growl. A sound that a blood thirsty Hounder would make when he found its prey. Everyone looked around for the source but couldn't find it.

Ash looked down at Pichu. His stomach was vibrating and making the noise. Ash laughed.

"Well! Looks like somebody's hungry!" said Ash and laughed some more. Odd how something so little can cheer someone up.

Oak went and got some baby, Pokemon formula for Pichu to eat and got some real food for everyone else to eat. When everyone had their fill, Oak went to discussing on what they should do to check the river.

"First, you need to bring a water type Pokemon with you to go into the river," started the professor.

"Oh, I have Squirtle. Will he do?" asked May.

"He'll do just fine. Okay, bring May's Squirtle with you to go into the river. Tell him to check for anything abnormal. After that, come back here and tell me everything that happened. Did Squirtle find anything? Did anything happen? Whatever information you have will do," finished the professor.

"Short and simple," said Max.

"When can we go?" asked Brock.

"Right now, if you want," answered Oak.

Everyone nodded their heads. They were to go ASAP. Ash walked over to Prof. Oak and gave him Pichu.

"Take good care of him, Professor," said Ash.

"Of course I will, Ash. Do you not trust me?" asked Oak.

"I do. . .I just get worried about him," said Ash.

Oak smiled, leaned over, and whispered in Ash's ear.

"That's a sign of a great father."

Ash was shocked, but took the. . .complement.

Everyone turned and made their way to the door while Oak gave a quick wave and took Pichu into a different room. As Brock opened the door, Ash made a quick glance towards Oak. In Oak's arms, Pichu was waving to his father with a smile on his face.

_He knows that you're his father, and he knows that you're going to come back._

Ash smiled and waved back to his son. He then turned back and walked outside.

**Sorry for taking so long to make this chapter and sorry for it just being another filler. I promise that the next one will be filled with action!**

**Also, sense I have made a new story, War of Hope, it will take about twice as long to write. That way, I can write a chapter for this one and the other one. One week I'll write a chapter for this story and the next week I'll write a chapter for my other story.**

**A big thanks to TOBB for always being with me: THANKS!**

**Also, I GOT ACCEPTED! I'm now in the Institute of Children's Literature! Yea!**

**That means that real writers** **will come and help me with my writing skills, and even help me publish a book! Better get my autograph now before I write a book that's better than Harry Potter! ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

Inner Strength part 10

**Awesome! I made it to ten chapters! Oh, yeah! Can't touch this! break dance**

**I would like to give thanks to TO/BB for always giving me ideas and support. I would also like to give thanks to Coshi-Drangonite for the fan pics. They look great man! Another thanks to KMWS and Lightsaga for reading this story and telling everyone on Devaint Art about it. And a big thanks to everyone else that took their time to read my stories and review them. THANKS!!!**

**I haven't said this before, so I'll say it now before I get sued. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo, not me. The characters that aren't originally in Pokemon but are in this story (Artemis, Ray, Bob, etc.) are mine. Don't take them away from me!!**

**On with the story!**

Ash stared at the wide, blue waters of the vast river that laid before him. The light from the sun was reflecting itself on the waters, making it glitter.

Ash relaxed. It's been so long since he had been home that he had forgotten how beautiful this place is. If Team Aqua was hiding here, they chose a very good spot.

"Ash!"

Ash turned towards the voice. It was May, and standing beside her was her Squirtle.

"I think we're ready," said May.

Ash nodded and walked up to Squirtle.

"Okay, Squirtle. We need you to go into that river and look for anything suspicious. Got it?" said Ash.

"Squirtle squirt, squirtle squirtle squirt?" asked Squirtle, slightly confused.

"We're not real sure of what exactly we are looking for. Just tell us if you see something out of the ordinary," said Ash.

Squirtle was still a little confused, but shrugged his shoulders and walked to the edge of the river. From there, he jumped up into the air, spun 360 degrees, and dived into the water with very little slashing involed.

"Show off," muttered Ash. May just giggled.

Brock, Max, and Pikachu where sitting on some large rocks a distance away from the river, watching Ash and May.

"So what do we do while Squirtle's in there?" asked Max.

Ash shrugged. "Just wait, I guess."

Brock sat up on his. . .slightly comfortable rock and gave Ash an idea.

"Ash, maybe you should use this time to train yourself. So far, you only know a few moves and have only a couple abilities, and you need to practice on those too," said Brock.

"Pika!" shouted Pikachu and got up. "Pika pikachu pi pikachu kachu."

Wow, that's a turn of events.

"Pikachu? You want to train me?" asked Ash.

Pikachu nodded, excited.

"Well, I guess you might be the best person to do it. Lets do this!"

Pikachu nodded again and jumped off of the rock that he and Brock where sitting on. From there, he walked up to Ash and started pondering on what they need to work on.

"Let me see," said Pikachu. Thanks to Ash being a Pokemon himself, he was still able to understand whatever Pikachu says. "I got it! Ash, battle me so that I can find out what you need help on."

"Battle you? Right now?" asked Ash to his best friend.

Pikachu nodded once again and got into his pouncing position. Ash tried to mimic Pikachu and got into his own pouncing position.

Pikachu stopped to point out the mistake Ash already made. He walked over to Ash (while Ash was still in his pouncing position) and told him what he already did wrong.

"Ash, your bottom is too high. Bring it closer to the ground, and keep your head low too," said Pikachu while slightly pushing Ash's Pikachu head down. "The closer your body is to the ground, the more hight you'll get."

Pikachu continued fixing Ash's stance until he was satisfied. Then, with Ash in his new and improved stance, walked to a clear grassy area (away from Brock, Max, and May, but not too far to were they couldn't see them) and got into his stance.

"Come on, Ash! I don't want you to go easy on me. Show me what you've got!" intimidated Pikachu.

Ash wasn't planning to go easy on him. . .and he didn't.

Pikachu ran up to him and swung down an iron tail towards Ash. Ash used quick attack and ran behind Pikachu and attempted to slam into his back.

Pikachu dogged the attack and followed it up with a ferry of scratch attacks. Ash moved to the left, right, left, right, doge, small jump, left, right again, then swung his own iron tail around. Pikachu was able to jump away from the attack, but came running back with a quick attack.

Ash was able to block the attack by folding his arms in front of him and use them as a small shield while Pikachu bashed him with his attack.

* * *

"Wow, Ash sure is one heck of a fighter," said May while watching Pikachu and Ash spar each other.

"Indeed. In fact, it seems that Ash is fighting a little too well," said Brock.

Ash pushed back on Pikachu with his folded arms and broke his friend's attack. He then, jumped into the air and swung down another iron tail towards Pikachu.

"What do you mean?" asked Max, who was also watching the two Pikachues battle.

Pikachu did a back flip, which dogged Ash's attack and sunk the iron tail into the ground.

"Ash has never had any fighting experiences in his life, at least, for all I know. And yet, as you can see, he fights as if he's a black belt. Plus, he's in a body that he's not used to, so how does that make him even better?" explained Brock.

Ash's tail was so deep into the ground that it was difficult for him to pull it back out. Pikachu used this to his advantage and did another quick attack at Ash.

"That is a good point. Maybe since he has had Pikachu through his whole journey, he has memorized all of his moves and how to do them," said May.

"Not likely. Watching someone do a trick is completely different than doing the trick yourself. You need to have plenty of practice and training, which neither has Ash done," said Brock.

Pikachu ran up to Ash while getting another iron tail ready. Ash tried to pull out his tail, but it had sunk too deep into the ground. Instead, Ash got his tail ready and glowing and pushed it in front of himself, using it as a shield to Pikachu's attack.

Pikachu slammed his glowing tail onto Ash's. The impact of the hit pushed Ash's tail out and allowed him to walk freely again.

"So how is that possible?" asked Max.

"It's not," said Brock. "But, I think it came from that potion Ash took."

"You mean the potion that turned Ash into a Pikachu? The one Artemis made?" asked May.

Brock nodded.

Another quick attack. Another doge. A counter-block. Both Pikachues where jumping, swinging, and attacking each other like a Jackie Chan vs. Chuck Norris movie.

"I believe that the potion not only turned Ash into a Pikachu, but also enhanced his abilities," explained Brock.

"Enhanced his abilities? Are you saying that the potion made Ash's moves stronger?" asked Max, confused.

Pikachu swiped at Ash with one of his claws, but Ash moved to the side to doge the attack. Pikachu kept swiping at Ash with both of his claws. Left, right, left, right, left, right, down, up, left, and right again, but now matter where or how Pikachu scratched, Ash kept dogging them.

"Not exactly. What I'm saying is that maybe the potion made his senses better. Made him hear twice as good, made his eyesight better, made his reactions come quicker and more naturally, and all the other stuff that makes a great fighter. I wouldn't be surprised if his muscles were stronger and his bones were thicker," said Brock.

Pikachu did another scratch attack, but this time it was a little too low. Ash dogged the attack and spun to the other side of Pikachu, who ran to Ash's back and did another quick attack.

"Well, I suppose that could explain some things, but I'm not so sure about the thick bones," said May.

"Why?" asked Max, still confused at all this magic-logic mix up.

Ash saw this attack coming and was able to doge it by a millisecond. Because of his velocity, Pikachu couldn't stop himself and ran into a tree. However, before he hit the tree, he was able to plant his feet down onto the bark, which gave him a slight speed advantage.

"Remember back at the Pokecenter? Back when that boy found Ash laying around somewhere?" said May.

"Yeah," said both Max and Brock.

"Well, Nurse Joy pointed out some scabs and bruises over Ash's body. She said that they looked like they have been healing for days, but he wasn't gone for more than a day!" explained May.

Pikachu jumped off the tree and flew mid-air above Ash. Ash jumped up into the air with him and started swinging his own scratch attack s at Pikachu.

"You might have a point there," said Brock.

"So you two are saying that the potion, which turned Ash into a Pokemon, also gave him better battle qualities and allowed his body to heal quicker?" asked Max, starting to understand everything.

"It might sound odd, and usually I would have said it was impossible, but in this case. . .yes," said Brock.

Pikachu swung his body around and slammed a iron tail at Ash while he was doing scratch. The impact sent both of them in opposite directions; Ash to the ground and Pikachu back to the tree.

They both slammed into their tree/ground with a THUD.

There was silence as both trainer and trainee tried to get back up. They huffed and puffed in exhaustion of their short battle.

"You have gotten better since the last time you've battled," said Pikachu in his Pokemon tong.

Ash smiled.

"You went easy on me," he said.

"What makes you say that?" asked Pikachu

Ash shook his head while taking and couple more gasps of air.

"You never used thunder or any electric attacks on me. You only used physical and fighting attacks," said Ash.

Now, Pikachu smiled.

"I did go easy on you, yes. But I did that because I know that you can't do any electric attacks yet. I'll teach you how to do some after we fix some other mistakes you've made," said Pikachu.

Ash nodded and slowly got up. They both breathed hard and tried to clam their own breaths. Neither of them where hurt or injured, they where just tired from the battle.

So, they slowly made their way back to the rock and sat on it to rest.

The others where about to say something to them, but Squirtle popped out of the river, panting.

"Squirtle? You're done? Did you find it?" asked May in shock.

Squirtle ran over to May and started pulling on her arm and shouting, "Squirtle squirt! Squirtle squirtle!!" His face was filled with fear and worry. If someone was to walk up and see Squirtle's face, they would've thought someone was trying to kill him.

"Squirtle, what's wrong?" asked May while holding her place as Squirtle tried to pull her away from. . .something.

"Squirtle squirt squirt!" shouted Squirtle, his face even more fearful.

May had no idea what was wrong with her Squirtle. Did he see something? Did something attack him?

May looked at Ash for support.

"Ash, you can understand Pokemon. What is he saying?" she asked Ash.

"He's saying, 'Run, run! It's coming! It's coming for us!'" translated Ash.

"What's 'it'?" asked Max.

Suddenly, "it" popped out of the river and towered high above them. "It" was a long, skinny, mechanical arm with a strong looking robotic claw at the end.

The claw seemed to look down at the group, scanning each person. Everyone was still from shock and fear while the metal claw was slowly moving and watching their every move.

Time seemed to stop still as the claw stood there. It seemed to be looking for something. . .or someone.

When it came over to the fear filled Squirtle, it dashed at him. The machine moved with surprising speed and accuracy as it slid through the air.

Squirtle saw it coming for him and ran for his life, but the arm was too fast for him and grabbed him on his shell. It pulled him. . .no, dragged him back into the waters with an eerie grinding noise as metal and earth scrapped on each other.

The arm pulled Squirtle slowly back into the water, as if it was intimidating everyone around to just try to stop it. The blue turtle screamed with fear as the arm dragged him back into the cursed river that he tried to escape from.

"Squirtle!" shouted Ash.

Ash jumped off the rock and ran after Squirtle with the gang behind him. Ash reached out his hand to the frightened turtle to try to pull him out, but it was too late. The metal claw had pulled Squirtle back into the river and was probably pulling him even deeper into the water.

Ash yanked off his hat and dived into the water, trying desperately to retain his now sunken friend. May took off her pouch and shoes and dived into the water as well. Max, Brock and Pikachu stayed on the dry land and waited.

* * *

Stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke.

_Come on! Move faster! _Thought Ash.

He was swimming as fast as he could, but his yellow fur was slowing him down and his small feet could only grab small bits of water to push.

Stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke.

May wasn't having as much difficulty with swimming, but her clothes where holding her back. Other then that, she was moving quite quickly.

Stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke.

Ash could see Squirtle's small body drown deeper into the water with the claw pulling on him. He must be about seven feet away from Ash by now.

Wait, seven feet? By now, Ash must have swam about four or five feet into the river. _Wow, I don't remember this place being so deep before_, thought Ash.

Then, his ears started to hurt.

He swallowed._ I must be ten feet deep in the river if I have to swallow._

After another two feet, Ash could tell that it was no use. The metal claw was pulling Squirtle too quickly for Ash's small body to catch up. Plus, he was already running out of air.

_I need something that will make me move faster in this water_, thought Ash.

Stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke.

He looked around him while swimming. The river seemed to have a endless dept in it and Suqirtle seemed to be moving forever. Every now and then, a mountain of earth could be seen along with other underwater formations. To Ash's left, he could see a formation that looked like an upside-down L. That just could work.

However, he still needed air, and he doesn't have enough time to swim to the surface. Ash started to slow his stroking and swam closer to the formation.

Stroke. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke.

May noticed Ash's change of movement and swam up to him. Ash saw her. He wanted to tell her his problem, but it is difficult to talk underwater.

Should she go instead of him? She is a faster swimmer. However, not even her speed could catch up to Squirtle by now, even if she did use this rock.

Ash has stronger legs, no doubt about it. He has noticed that his strength has increased significantly, and that could come in handy with what he's about to do. But he still needs air.

Ash motioned to May the rock and tried to use body language to tell her that he needs air to continue.

Apparently, May completely understood, for she swam up to Ash and planted her lips onto his. Ash was shocked and was confused with what May was doing, but he later found out as she blew oxygen into his mouth from her's.

Small bubbles of air escaped their mouths, but Ash was able to get just enought air for the bubbles to become insignificant.

Soon, the bubbles stopped and May pulled her lips away and started swimming back to the surface.

Ash swam over to the rock formation and placed his feet at the edge of the L. From there, he focused all his strength and energy into his feet and legs and pushed off.

SWOOSH! The water seemed to have ripped as Ash speed through the water towards Squirtle. A trail of small suds quickly followed him as he flew through the river.

_Wow, I didn't know I could go this fast! _Thought Ash as the water rushed past him as he darted through it.

Squirtle and the claw where coming closer to him now. They where only three feet away now.

Two feet.

One foot.

Gotch ya'! Ash laid both of his paws on the scared turtle's shell. The robotic claw had a good grip on him, but not good enough to withstand Ash's new strength. Ash took one paw off of Squirtle's shell and placed it on one part of the claw that held on to Squirtle's right.

He pulled with all of his might.

EEEEEEEEEH! The metal seemed to be screaming for mercy as Ash pulled it away. It even hurt Ash's ears while he pulled, it was so loud in the water.

Ash kept pushing it away from his turtle friend until he heard a faint CLICK. The piece floated away into the river's debts.

The arm stopped. Ash looked around. In front of him and Squirtle was a large underwater rock formation. It looked like a big bolder that was somehow fused with another, but that wasn't why Ash was looking at it.

The robotic arm that still held Squirtle, was coming out of that rock. That meant only one thing.

They have found Team Aqua.

Ash remembered that the arm stopped moving and that one part of the claw was broken, so he slipped Squirtle out of the now open space and set him free.

Squirtle gave his thanks to Ash and offered a ride on his shell. _He is a much faster swimmer_, thought Ash. _It'll take less time and I'll get more air quicker_.

Ash grabbed the end of the turtle's shell and hung on.

BAM! Ash and Squirtle were caught by surprise as another mechanical arm shot out of Team Aqua's hideout and tried to grab them.

Ash tried to tell Squirtle to go, but all that came out was a bubble. It didn't matter, anyways, for Squirtle was already shooting off.

The two zoomed through the water with the mechanical arm right behind them. Squirtle tried to shake it off by turning this way and that way and doing loops and using the other underwater formations, but nothing worked. It seemed that this is simply a matter of speed.

A race for survival.

Ash was getting lightheaded from the lack of oxygen he was having. He tried opening his mouth to suck in air, but instead lost some of his own stored air. Squirtle looked over his shoulder and saw that Ash needed air, so he tried swimming as fast as he could.

The metal arm was close behind. It seems that this one is much faster than the other. Squirtle was almost to the surface, straining his arms and legs to move faster.

They where ten feet away from air, from freedom. The arm was three feet away from grabbing them and pulling them to slavery. . .or worst.

Eight feet. Ash was starting to see a black fog cover his vision.

Six feet. The arm was catching up and was now only two feet away.

Four feet. Ash's eyes were getting heavy.

Two feet. The arm was almost close enough to touch them.

* * *

May laid on the ground in the sunlight, trying to dry off. Everyone was waiting for Ash to come back, but so far nothing has happened.

"Now can I check?" asked May for the hundredth time.

"Not yet, May. Even if we did go in, we wouldn't be of any help. That machine moves too quickly in the water, so getting Ash out might just make things worst for us," said Brock.

May groaned. She didn't want to wait for someone to either die or pop out of the water. But, she knew that Brock was right. They will have to wait whether they like it or not.

May sat up and watched the water. Odd how such pretty water could hold such a devastating secret. It was for sure that Team Aqua was in there, and they probably knew that they are here as well.

May sighed. . .Then caught her breath.

Out of the river popped Squirtle with Ash clinging onto his shell. For a couple of seconds, they seemed to fly up in the air with the speed they had made and touched the sky. Then, they both fell on the ground right in front of May.

Ash almost gulped down the air as he started breathing heavily. Ah, the fresh oxygen never tasted so good after such a swim. Even Squirtle was breathing hard. He, after all, did most of the swimming and having Ash on his back did weigh him down which used up a lot of his energy.

Both the blue turtle and the half human, half Pikachu laid on the ground, trying to rest. Ash might have had the worst part, actually. After sparring a Pikachu with only so many moves, then swimming endlessly could tire anyone out.

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.

After several more gasps, Ash had enough air the thank Squirtle.

"Thank you. . . Squirtle. . .I," Ash took another deep breath. "Owe you one."

"Squirtle. . . squirt," said Squirtle.

Ash made a small laugh that sounded more like wheezing.

"I guess we. . .are even. . .after all," said Ash with another deep breath of air. "I did save you. . . from Team Aqua. . . then you saved me."

Squirtle nodded and rested his chin on the grass.

May crawled over to the two to see if they were okay.

"Are you okay? What happened?" asked May.

They didn't answer. Instead, they kept trying to suck in as much air as possible.

But, it wasn't over just yet.

The mechanical arm burst out of the water and towered above them, just like the other did. When it came over to Ash and Squirtle, it dived down with an open claw.

Ash and Squirtle tried to get away quickly, but they were so tired that they couldn't move very fast.

The claw grabbed Ash's tail and pulled him towards the water. Ash dug his own claws into the Earth to try to stop the mechanical claw from taking him, but it was too strong.

"Hurry! Pull!" shouted Brock to the others.

Soon, Max, Brock, May, Pikachu, and even Squirtle were pulling on the end of the claw to try to stop it before taking Ash. They pulled back and so did the metal claw.

It was like a Tug-o-War game. . .just that if you lose. . .you lose your best friend. Ironic, I know.

Even with all of Ash's friends pulling back on the machine, it was not enough. The claw kept pulling Ash closer to the edge of the river and closer to the water.

_This isn't working_, thought Ash._ There has to be some kind of way to cut this thing in half!_

Ash charged up his tail that was being pulled back and tried swinging it onto the claw, but the claw had grabbed his tail at a spot to where he couldn't hit anything with it.

"Pikachu, try cutting it off with iron tail!" commanded Ash.

Pikachu immediately released the metal claw and charged up his own tail. He then swung it down onto the skinny metal.

CLASH! The glowing tail bounced off the metal. Pikachu tried again, this time with more force.

CLASH! Not even a dent. Whatever this machine was made out of, Pikachu couldn't penetrate it.

Pikachu would've tried to thunder shock it, but Ash was in there and he might hurt him instead of saving him.

_This still isn't working! _Thought Ash. _I need something that has enough power to break through this! But what?_

Then, Ash remembered the microchip on his head.

Should he? Does he really have a choice?

The claw had already pulled him almost to the edge of the river and everyone was getting tired from all the pulling. He had to do this quick.

"Everyone let go and move out of the way!" shouted Ash.

"Are you nuts? If we let go, Team Aqua will take you for sure!" shouted Max.

"Just do it and do it quickly!" shouted back Ash.

Everyone hesitated for a while. Should they? It seemed too risky, but then, Ash has done some risky stuff in the past and most of the time it worked out. . .most of the time. . .

Brock made his decision and let go. Soon, Max did the same and so did Pikachu, so obedient to his trainer was he. However, May still held onto the machine and continued to pull back.

"May, you have to let go! Trust me!" said Ash.

May couldn't let go. She didn't want to lose him again to Team Aqua. Last time, she got lucky that they let him go. This time, they might not be so nice.

"May! Let go of it! I can only get out if you let go!" shouted Ash.

May wasn't sure. Should she? If it didn't work, Ash could be gone forever.

If it did work, her and Ash could still be safe and together. What where the odds of that?

"MAY!" Ash almost screamed out his words.

May finally let go of the metal and quickly got out of Ash's way.

Ash turned over to his back and pointed his head at the claw.

He raised his finger over to the button on his microchip. May already knew what he was going to do.

He pressed the button. It glowed with an orange light, which soon turned into a small ball of Inner Strength in front of him. Soon, the ball grew in size and power until it was the same size as Ash head.

Then, the orange ball turned into a beam of energy and shot at the mechanical arm. The pull back of the shot made Ash's aim go slightly off, so it hit the very end of the claw that connected to the part that was still underwater.

The metal obliterated and disappeared in front of Ash's eyes. It seemed that the very atoms in the metal where being destroyed, particle by particle. Atom by atom.

In a matter of seconds, that part of the arm didn't exist anymore, just now a empty area between the two parts. Even the ground that was beneath the arm was gone and left a large hole.

The claw let go of Ash's tail. Ash tried to crawl out, but after using his Inner Strength again, he fainted.

* * *

"Ah? Man, my head," said the now conscious Ash. He looked around himself to see where he was.

He was laying on a very soft bed with white sheets and a white pillow. He was in a small, gray, room and in the room with him was Prof. Oak. Ash was back at the lab!

The scientist saw that Ash was awake and motioned his friends over from the next room. Soon, Max, May, Brock, and Pikachu where pouring into Ash's room just to see him.

"Ash! Ash! Are you alright?" asked the worried May.

"What happened?" asked Ash. He still couldn't think very strait.

"Well, you pressed your button and destroyed most of the bottom half of that robotic arm with that beam of yours," explained Max.

Ash felt his head with his paw. Still had fur on it, but where the Microchip was supposed to be, felt different. Not exactly like skin, nor fur, but almost like some kind of rubber.

"What happened to the microchip?" asked Ash.

Oak walked over to him and held up a spray can.

"It's a new invention I've made! This is the prototype, however, but it covers it up pretty well, doesn't it?" said the professor.

"What does it do and what did it do to the microchip?" asked Ash.

"Well, it was made to help cover wounds on hurt Pokemon in case there wasn't a Pokecenter near by. But, in this case, it helps cover your chip. That way, your head looks like a normal Pikachu head. This stuff even makes it look like real skin or fur!" boasted Prof. Oak.

"Hey, that reminds me. . ." said Brock. He grabbed Ash's hat off the floor and gave it to him.

"Thanks, Brock," said Ash and took the hat.

He immediately placed the hat back on his head.

Ash tried to stand up, but he felt weak and powerless.

_Why do I feel so weak? Did me using my Inner Strength also use some of my energy? _Thought Ash.

"You gave us quite a scare, Ash," said Oak. "You where out for nearly five hours."

"Five hours?" Ash tried to sit himself up. At least he was able to sit up.

_Note to self: Only use Inner Strength in dire situations!_

Then, Ash remembered Team Aqua and what May had to do.

"May, did you call Team Magma?" asked Ash.

When Ash mentioned them, May stopped smiling. She looked away from Ash and towards the floor.

"What? What happened?" asked Ash, confused at May's face.

Max answered for his sister.

"You see, Ash, May did call them and told them everything. . .but the thing is. . ."

He just stopped his sentence right there.

Ash couldn't take the suspense of that.

"What?! Just tell me what happened!" said Ash, almost shouting.

Now, May turned back around and faced Ash.

"They said that we have to go into Team Aqua's base and destroy it."

Destroy it? How will they do that? Just five hours ago, they had problems with just a robotic arm!

Just the string of the puppet, not even the puppet itself! And now they have to face the puppeteer?!

This wasn't a check and go mission. . .

This was suicide.

**Yay! I love cliffys!**

**Here's just an FYI, I completely Suck at spelling! Suck with a capital S. So, if you see any more spelling errors, please tell me. I would like to thank everyone that already did. Thank you.**


	11. Chapter 11

Inner Strength part 11

**Before I begin the story, I would like to say thank you to Lightsaga (aka Darksaga). Grasias senor! And another thank you to KMWS for showing everyone this story. THANK YOU!!**

**Also, before someone sues me, I would like to say that I do not own Pokemon, Nintendo does. I don't own every much. I get my water from the rain and eat whatever I find dead on the streets. If it doesn't rain, I melt my dead food and drink it until my thirst is quenched.**

**Just kidding...On with the story!**

"How are we supposed to do that?" asked Ash, still in shock.

"You know just as well as I do, Ash," answered May.

"There has to be another way to do this besides sending kids into an HQ filled with people that want each of you dead. We should call the police or the army or something!" said Prof. Oak, freaking out that kids have to go on a suicide mission.

"We can't call the police," explained Max. "Remember when we told you how we ended up in jail?"

"I still don't understand that! None of you are old enough to even be in that jail. You and May should have been in Juvenile Hall if you actually did anything that bad," said Oak.

"That tells you something else," stated Brock. "It seems that Team Aqua can control everything the police does. Maybe Team Magma can too, for all we know."

"How is that possible? You can't just command all of the police departments," said Oak.

All these questions where spinning in Ash's head. Being turned into a Pikachu was a big thing when this all started, now this?

"Well, I'm not sure, but they somehow found a way."

How where they going to destroy the whole HQ of a giant organization? They where just kids after all. However, they have been through some pretty tight situations and still made it through. That's very impressive for any kid.

May was thinking about how this was all her fault. If only she didn't agree with that Team Magma man back at the cell, none of them would be here. They shouldn't even be risking their own lives just for her.

She looked at her palm. The small black dot was still there, looking insignificant, but made her a sitting duck. To think that this little speck could cause so much trouble.

"Well, back to the point. I'll go and try to find some kind of blue prints or anything that could help us," said Oak and made his way out of the room.

Before Oak had reached the door, he noticed that Pichu was crawling over to Ash's bed. How did Pichu get all the way over here? He last left him in the other room.

Then, the professor remembered something that he wanted to show Ash.

"Ash, I need to show you something about your son."

Ash sat up on his bed and scooted over to the edge so he could see. When he saw his son and his son saw him, they both had a great impulse to hug, but the professor picked up Pichu and sat him on a table opposite of Ash.

Oak speed-walked out of the room and quickly came back with three brown cups and a bag of Pokeblocks.

"Now, watch this."

The professor placed each cup upside down in front of Pichu, one on his left, one on his right, and one in-between. Then, he grabbed a Pokeblock and placed it underneath one of the cups. After that, he quickly rearranged the cups, moving the cup that was on the right over to the left and the one that was on the left over to the right, making it hard to find the one with the Pokeblock. But, as he moved the cups from here to there, Pichu watched with interest and playfulness.

"Okay, Pichu. If you find the one with the treat, you get to eat it," said Oak when he was done with the cups.

Pichu smiled and reached his hands for the cup in the middle with a playful manner. He picked up the cup and underneath was the Pokeblock.

Everyone was shocked at how easily and fast Pichu was able to find the Pokeblock in the three cups. The professor grabbed another Pokeblock out of the bag while Pichu gobbled down the one in his paws.

Oak did the same thing, just this time he moved the cups faster and more confusing like. When he was done, Pichu grabbed the one on his right and revealed the Pokeblock. Oak repeated the process about four more times, each time making it even more difficult to find the Pokeblock underneath one of the cups. But no matter how hard Oak made it, Pichu always found the right cup on the first try.

Finally, Oak was satisfied at showing everyone and picked up the three cups.

"Do you see? He's not even one year old and yet he has the intelligence of an advanced five year old," said Prof. Oak.

Ash just stared in disbelief at his son. He watched his son chew down the last piece of Pokeblock that he found. Could he really be that smart? Could his son, Pichu, really have such a mind?

Even Max, who thought he was pretty smart for his age, was shocked and (slightly) jealous.

"What does this mean, professor?" asked Brock.

"Truthfully, I'm not sure. Nothing like this has ever happened before, not even when I did those experiments. This child is surly . . . unique," said Oak.

Ash smiled. _Of course he's unique! He's my son._

Suddenly, one of Oak's assistants burst through the door to the room.

"Professor! The Houndoom is making a ruckus with the Pokemon again!" said the assistant.

"Not again," sighed Oak.

"We'll help," offered May. Max and Brock nodded to show that they will too.

Oak gestured them to follow and soon they all walked out of the room except for Ash and his son.

Pichu looked up at his father and gave him another smile, showing Ash that he was done with his Pokeblck. Man, he looks so cute when he smiles. Pichu took his small staggering, baby steps over to Ash and reached his hands up while making a "Chu!" noise.

Ash was confused. What did he want? Pichu sounded like he wanted Ash to do something, but Ash wasn't sure what it was. Pichu kept pushing his hands up against Ash's yellow chest and continued with his pleading.

"What? What is it?" asked Ash.

"Chu! Chu!" said his son.

Ash picked him up and cradled him in his arms. Apparently, that was what Pichu wanted for he stopped making his pleading noise.

"You just want me to carry you?" asked Ash while rolling his eyes. He knew that he wasn't going to get an answer, but he just wanted to talk to Pichu a little more.

Ash walked out of the room with Pichu in his arms. He found a window and saw that it was already night time that was when an idea came into Ash's head.

"Let me show you something, Pichu," said Ash to his son.

He walked around the laboratory until he found the door that leads outside, to the front. He had some difficulty opening the door with his small body and holding his son, but he was soon able to open it. He then walked into the cool, dark, twinkling outside.

_Man, this place sure has changed since I left here, _thought Ash as he looked around Pallet Town.

He started walking around his home town, remembering stores and bringing back old memories as he past this and that. But he wasn't here to show Pichu his home town, he wanted to show him something special. Something that he used to do at night.

_I just hope it isn't gone or taken, _thought Ash as he retraced his steps. He soon found out that he was walking over to his old home, where his mother still lived along with Mr. Mime. What would she think if she found out what happened to Ash? Should he go and tell her?

No, that could just make her more worried about him. That's the last thing he would want. Now, where was his spot?

_Ah! Here it is! Exactly how I remembered it, _thought Ash. Close behind Ash's old house, there was some tall grass where he used to sneak into at night when his mom was asleep. He would come out here to ponder stuff or to just relax. Some of the grass was still bent where he used to sit and watch the stars and wild Pokemon.

"Here we are. Daddy used to go here when he was little," said Ash. Saying "daddy" made him feel odd. As if he didn't want to say the word, but it just came out to mimic him.

But Pichu liked to hear his father say such a word. It made him feel loved and cared for. The babyish of it made both of them feel more attached to each other, just like a father and son should be.

Ash laid himself on the grass while Pichu got comfortable on his chest, and they both looked up at the stars. They both laid there for hours, just watching and counting the stars. There seemed to be millions of them, floating and twinkling in the night sky. Pichu sat still as his little mind wondered about the stars and their beauty.

"Chu!" shouted Pichu.

Ash saw it too. A shooting star. A bright mass of light that flings across the sky for their gazing.

"Yeah. You know what that means, right?" said Ash.

Pichu gave him a questioned look.

"That means you get to make a wish! Every time you see a shooting star, you get to make one wish," said Ash.

Pichu was still confused and continued with his confused look.

Ash just gave him a smile.

"Go ahead, make a wish! What is it that you want? What is it that you would like, Pichu? Whatever it is, just wish for it and it just might come true."

Pichu understood and pondered for a bit, then finally nodded. He had made his first wish. Ash nodded with him and smiled.

"Good job! But make sure you don't tell anyone your wish or it won't come true, okay?"

Pichu nodded again. He then laid back on Ash's chest and continued his star gazing.

They gazed for about half an hour, just sitting and watching. Soon, Ash noticed that Pichu was asleep. The little ball of yellow fur had cuddled up on his father's chest and fell asleep with the warmth.

Ash slowly got up and picked up his son, then cradled him in his arms. _Maybe it's time we go back, _thought Ash.

Then, he heard some noise from behind him, but he couldn't see due to the tall grass. What should he do? Hide? Run?

The person walked right to were Ash's spot was and revealed herself. It was Ash's mother.

"Oh!" she said, noticing the Pikachu. "Hello there!"

Ash started to back away. Mom? Could it really be her? He can't show her what has happened to him.

"No, no, don't be scared," she said while Ash was backing away. "Don't worry, I wont hurt you."

She looked at him and noticed his hat. She seemed to daze off, thinking about the memories behind the hat.

"That looks just like my son's hat. Do you know him? His name is Ash."

Ash didn't nod or shake his head. He just wanted to be away from her. He just didn't want to be seen like this.

Or maybe . . . maybe he should tell her. Should he? What would happen if he did?

"Aw. Is that your child?"

She saw his sleeping Pichu in his cradled arms. Pichu could be one of the reasons to not tell her. What would say when she finds out that her grandson is a Pokemon?

Ash's mom crossed her legs and sat in front of Ash, getting herself comfortable. Her eyes didn't leave Ash or his son. She had the lust of caring for someone again. So long it has been since she has seen her own son. So long . . . to hug . . . to have a motherly kiss on the cheek . . . to talk . . .

Even though he was worried about his mother's opinion, Ash still missed his mom just as much as she missed him. He wanted to feel her warm hug just one more time. He laid Pichu on the grass and walked closer to his mother.

She noticed that he was coming closer and extended a hand of welcoming.

"It's okay. I wont hurt you. Come on, come on."

Ash got to her stomach and surprised her with a hug. She didn't even think that a wild Pikachu would walk up to her and hug her, but she gratefully returned it.

"Oh, you remind me so much of my son, Ash. Even this hug feels just like he's here," she said while hugging Ash tighter.

"I missed you, Mom," said Ash.

She froze.

Oops. Ash didn't mean to say that, it just came out. Maybe she might just think that it was the wind or something . . . hopefully.

She held Ash outward from her and stared at him.

"Now I think I'm hearing his voice. Is it really that late?" she thought out loud and placed a hand on her head.

"Well, it's only . . ." _DARN IT!_

Ash slapped himself on the face for how stupid he was. His mom stared at his eyes with worry and consideration.

"Ash?"

Might as well tell her, she already knows.

Ash scratched the back of his head while making an embarrassed smile.

"Heh . . . Hi Mom."

His mother looked into his eyes for a full two seconds. Then, her own eyes rolled over to the whites and made her whole body fall backwards, making Ash land right on her stomach. She had fainted.

* * *

It was a good thing that his house was near where his mom fainted, otherwise Ash might have never been able to pull his mother's unmoving body back into the house, while holding the sleeping Pichu.

Mr. Mime saw Ash with his mother and happily helped them. He helped lift her body onto a couch and laid Pichu down on Ash's old bed. Surprisingly, Ash's mom still had all of his old stuff in his room.

He told Mr. Mime to go to the lab and tell the others that he was going to stay at his mother's house. Mr. Mime gladly accepted and ran across town, towards the lab.

Ash waited silently next to his mother's body. What was she going to think? Would she accept him now that he's a Pokemon? Maybe if he told her it's only for a year, but what about Pichu? Would she accept Pichu? Or would she deny him for having a Pichu for a son?

After about an hour of pondering these things, his mother started to stir. Soon, she had one eye open and looked at Ash.

Sadly, right when that one eye figured out that it was Ash, both eyes sprang open along with her body.

"What? Who? Ash?" she was taking deep breaths, thinking that what she saw was a dream and was regretting it.

"Calm down, Mom! Calm down!"

"You? Ash? What? Where? Is this?"

"Calm down. Take deep breaths. Come on, breathe in and out."

She started inhaling deeply, then exhaled. She repeated her small process until her questions stopped. Soon, she was her old self again and was able to take in the fact that her son was now a small, yellow, electric, mouse.

Ash told her the story, just like he told Prof. Oak. He started with how he was turned into a Pikachu, then to when he met Misty II, then to when Team Aqua took him and experimented on him, then to when Pichu was born, then to . . . well, you get it.

When he was done, Ash stopped to let everything sink in. His mom had sat up strait through his whole story and never moved. As Ash tried to let everything sink, his mom stayed in her position. He started to wonder if anything was sinking into her mind.

After moments that felt like hours, she spoke.

"Ash . . . my little baby . . . so much has happened."

Ash nodded. It was too true.

"I know."

He looked at his yellow paws, watched them clench and unclench, as if they weren't his. Maybe they weren't.

"And this . . . other Pikachu, the girl one. You . . .?" she asked.

Ash just nodded.

"And that Pichu is . . .?"

Another nod.

She grabbed her head, as if to stop it from spinning.

"So now the Ketchum name is going to be passed onto . . . a Pokemon?"

Here it comes. The total rejection and disappointment.

Ash hung his head down to cover his shame. But then, he heard a chuckle. His mom was laughing. A high cheerful laugh at almost seemed inappropriate to how Ash felt.

"You're . . . laughing?" he asked, confused.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" she asked.

"I thought you wouldn't want me anymore. I thought you would be disappointed."

She stopped her chuckling and stared at Ash.

"The only thing that I'm disappointed about is not seeing my grandchild being born," she said.

No rejection? No hate?

"B-but, I thought-" started Ash.

"Honey, I'm your mother. I wouldn't be disappointed if you make a mistake. Human or not, you're still my little baby, and the same goes with your son. Which reminds me, what is his name?" she said.

"Pichu," said Ash.

His mother shook her head.

"You can't just name him that. He's your son, he's a Ketchum! You have to give him a special name, a unique name," she said.

Ash pondered on that. He never really considered giving Pichu a real name. But, what name should he give him?

"What should I name him, then?" he asked.

Now, it was his mother's turn to ponder.

"How about Ray? I've always liked that one," she said.

_Name my son after his mother's killer? Defiantly not, _thought Ash and shook his head.

"No?" She thought for a while. "How about Bob?"

_The one that did experiments on me? No again. _Ash shook his head.

"What about Harry?"

"Nah, that just doesn't fit him," said Ash.

"What about James?"

"No."

"John?"

"Still doesn't fit him."

"Jacob?"

"Still no."

"Abby?"

"That sounds like a girl's name, Mom."

She pondered for more names. She had to admit herself, none of them did fit her grandson.

Then, a name popped up in her head.

"I've got one! This was one of the names I thought of when I was pregnant with you, Ash. How does Xander sound?"

Ash thought about it. It sounded cool, it was a unique name, and it seemed to somehow fit Pichu. Maybe that could do it.

"Xander sounds great! That'll be his name from now on," announced Ash.

"Great!" said his mom. "Now, what about his middle name?"

"Does he need a middle name?"

"Honey, everyone has to have some kind of middle name." She pondered again. "Oh! I saw this one in the dictionary once, Taran. Would that be a good middle name?"

Ash thought about it again. It was another unique name and was catchy.

"Xander Taran Ketchum. I like it," said Ash. "How about we just call him Xan for short."

"That's fine with me," said his mom.

After that, Ash's mom made him some dinner. While Ash was eating, Brock, May, Max, Pikachu, and Mr. Mime came in. They said that Mr. Mime came to them a few hours ago, but no one could understand him. Eventually, Oak was able to translate just enough to understand the part about Ash's mom. After that, they ran over here to help.

Ash and his mom laughed and told them there was nothing to worry about. After that, his mother made more dinner for everyone to eat and offered them to sleep there at her house.

"It's been so long since I've had any guest. And besides, you are all friends of Ash, and a friend of Ash is a friend of mine," she told them.

They said their thanks and ate. After the big dinner, everyone went to sleep except Ash.

He stayed awake, standing next to his son, Xander. His mom found him there and asked if something was wrong.

"Nah, I'm fine, Mom," he said, not leaving his eyes from Xander's sleeping body.

"Something's wrong. I can tell, it's a mother's instinct."

Ash moved his eyes from his son to his mother.

"I was just thinking . . ." he said.

"Thinking about what?" his mom asked.

Ash sighed. He didn't feel like telling her, but he just had to get it off of his chest.

"It's just that . . . this body is only temporary."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Not with him," Ash said while motioning to Xander.

"I still don't understand, Ash."

"I had him while I was in this body, Mom. What about when I'm in my human body? What should I tell him? How will he live his life while knowing that his father is a different species than him?" Ash explained.

Ash hung his head down.

"I just don't know what to do. I want to be human again, but what would happen to Xander when I do? Should I stay as a Pikachu? What if he finds out eventually?" Ash sighed. "I just . . ."

His mother laid a hand of comfort on his shoulder. She knew that becoming a father at such a young age was a hard thing to go through. But, to add that with these complications . . . not even she has dealt with.

Ash's mother got down to her knees and looked at Ash strait in his eyes.

"Ash, when I was pregnant with you, I was worried sick at what pressure was put into me. And when your father left, that just made things worse," she said.

Ash looked away from his mother's eyes. His father. The one that nearly ruined both of their lives.

His mother placed both of her hands on his cheeks and pushed his face to face hers.

"I thought, 'What was I going to do?' And 'I can't do this!' I had doubted myself to take care of you. I even thought about adoption."

That made Ash shiver.

"But, look at us now. You have become a great friend and trainer to both Pokemon and humans. You have faced so many difficulties, more than anyone should have faced in a lifetime! I was able to raise that son that I thought I could not bear." Her eyes where piercing into his now. "Oak has told me about all of your adventures. You have faced worst stuff than having a child, Ash. You're a very smart kid and a kind hearted one too. You have all the requirements of a good father and more!"

Ash started to feel lifted, as if his worries were going away as each word left his mother's lips.

"You need to turn back into a human if you want to continue your journey to become the best, and you can do that while taking care of this child! I know you can, Ash. But, this isn't for me to say. He's your son, not mine."

Ash nodded.

"Now," she started while taking off one of her hands off of Ash's cheek and held up a finger. "There will be times when you want to just hurt him and give up, but never, ever do that. You told me that Misty II was his mother, right?"

Ash nodded again.

"She told you to watch him and to love him, right?"

Another nod.

"Then do it. If not for her, then for him," she said while pointing at Xander.

She sighed. "If only I was able to see her. Xander's mother. She sounds like the perfect mom and wife. Did you love her?"

Ash shook his head. "I loved her as a friend, but no more. She was the one that caught me off guard and . . . um . . . mated with me."

His mom nodded her head. She took both of her hands off of Ash's face and walked over to the door. Before she exited the room, she turned her head towards Ash.

"Remember what I said, Ash. I want you to take care of that child, Pokemon or not. In the end, if you stick to what Misty II said, he won't care what you are, but who you are."

And with that, she exited and closed the door.

* * *

Ash got some blankets out from a near by closet and made a small pallet out of them on the ground next to Xander. He wanted to sleep next to the little guy.

When Ash was finally able to lay his head down, he started pondering his mother's words.

"_In the end, if you stick to what Misty II said, he won't care what you are, but who you are."_

_Who I am?_ Thought Ash.

He looked up to Xander's bed again for the hundredth time. The little Pichu was still fast asleep and probably dreaming by now. Who would have known that such a little creature would be such a hand full?

Its times like this that made him miss Misty II.

Misty II! He just remembered that she was dying! He never wanted to leave her, but he had to come here.

By now, she was probably dead, already buried and resting.

"_I will never be able to rest unless our Pichu is loved and cared for."_

Her words popped into his head. Even if she is dead, she won't be able to rest without knowing that her son is happy. He doesn't blame her.

Ash rolled over in the blankets. Would he be able to care for Xander after they go into the Team Aqua base? Will they live? Will he live?

Ash shook the thought out of his head. _Come on, try to get some rest._

And with that, he fell asleep.

Just to find himself in the darkness of Artemis' mind again.

* * *

James slowly dragged his feet on the hard ground. It was getting dark and they had nowhere to sleep.

"Jessie, I'm tired," he complained.

"Shut up," said Jessie, also too tired to shout at him or to even slap him.

The team had been walking for hours, not finding anything good and became exhausted from it. They haven't even seen the twerps come out.

"Where are we going anywho?" asked Meouth.

"How should I know? You where the one that side to take a right at the fork!" said Jessie.

"I had a feeling it was on the left," mumbled James.

Jessie had enough.

"Will you two just shut up! We have to find somewhere to sleep before it gets too dark," she said.

Then, her side began to ring. Everyone was silent while she pulled out her walkie-talkie.

"Um . . . hello?" said Jessie into the walkie-talkie, not really knowing what to say.

"Who is reporting?" asked the man from the other side of the walkie-talkie.

Everyone froze. They knew who's voice that was.

Giovanni.

"I repeat, who is reporting?" said Giovanni, slightly angrier now.

"Um, Jessie and James, reporting for duty!" answered Jessie.

"What? You two?!" Some angry grunts and mumbles were heard in the background. Then a sigh. "Okay, fine. Look, I have a preopsition for all of you."

Everyone smiled with glee.

"I'll give you the promotion that you have been begging me for if you do something for me."

"Anything, sir!" saluted Jessie with a smile across her face.

Another grunt.

"Look, we've been having reports that a group called Aqua have been stealing our scientists and our advanced technology. We've also had reports of the same people have been going around and stealing Pokemon. That is our job and no one gets away with stealing from me!"

"Yes, sir!" said Jessie, James, and Meouth in union.

"What is it you want us to do?" asked James into the walkie-talkie.

"Obliterate Aqua. Then I just might give you that promotion. Over and out." The wakie-talkie was filled with static noise.

Jessie turned it off and smiled.

"We're going to get our promotion! Finally!"

Everyone grabbed each other's hands and danced in a circle.

When they were done dancing, James started to really think.

"How are we going to destroy Aqua? All the times we've seen them, they have over powered us," he said.

"Well first, we have to find them," said Jessie.

"How do we do that?" asked James.

"With this!" shouted Meouth while holding up something.

A small black machine with a screen in the middle. On the screen, a large green line moved across it while making a BEEP sound.

"What is it?" asked James.

"It's a radar. With this, all we have to do is look for something big and we'll know it's Aqua!" said Meouth with a smile.

"How does that tell us that it's Aqua?" asked Jessie.

Meouth faced her.

"Because Aqua is obviously a large group, right? So all we need to do is get on our balloon and search everywhere until we find a big reading on here," said Meouth while motioning to the radar.

"Wouldn't that take awhile?" asked James.

"Well, with that attitude we won't!" said Meouth.

"Alright, fine. It's the only thing we've got, but lets do it. Where is it pointing to now?" asked Jessie.

Meouth checked it. He pressed a few bottons and turned a few gears.

"Well, the biggest thing I can find is way over in Pallet Town," he said.

"Pallet Town?That can't be right!" shouted Jessie.

"Might as well check," said James.

Jessie agreed and they all got on there balloon . . . as soon as they found it laying near a couple of angry Absol.

**I love cliffies! Don't you?**

**If you don't, TOO BAD!! Lol**

**I would just like to announce to everyone that after this is posted, I'm going back to my assignment and after that, I'll try to finish another chapter to War of Hope. If I do finish that, I wont be able to finish another chapter of this until after June 3****rd****. Why? BECAUSE I'm going to Disney World! Woo!** XD


	12. Chapter 12

Inner Strength part 12

Ash looked around. Darkness, the all too familiar darkness of Artemis' mind.

"Welcome back, Ash."

Ash turned around. There stood Artemis, still in his black, hooded cloak.

"It has been awhile since we have last met," he said.

Ash didn't like this. Going back into Artemis' mind was never a good thing.

"What do you want now?" asked Ash.

"I want to apologize for before," said Artemis.

"Apologize?" This is weird.

"Yes, apologize. I know that last time I did not control my emotions like I usually do. I am still not sure how that happened, so I apologize for what I did and hope that nothing bad became of it."

Became of it? He was mad enough to kill Ash! And now he's apologizing? Something's going on here, Artemis wasn't the kind to do something like this.

"Um . . . that's fine . . . I guess, but why did you get so mad?" asked Ash, confused.

There was a small silence between them, then Artemis started walking up to Ash, but when he got close enough, he started talking while walking in circles around Ash.

"I got mad because you added an unwanted and unexpected variable to this experiment. I thought that everything was going smoothly and all according to my hypophysis, but then you messed everything up."

Artemis stopped. He raised his hand and angrily clinched it into a fist. "All my hard work . . . all that waiting . . . gone to waist." He threw his fist down and continued his pace around Ash.

"If that made you so mad before, why aren't you mad now?" asked Ash.

Artemis walked to the front of Ash, facing him.

"After much pondering and consideration, I have seen what more and new information this could lead to. After all, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Maybe a longer period of your stage could bring new questions and answers."

Artemis then started walking around Ash again.

"What questions and what answers are you looking for?" asked Ash.

Artemis chuckled. A short, low, soft chuckle.

"You have learned so much, yet do not know anything."

Ash started to wonder at what Artemis meant by that, but before he could consider, Artemis began talking again.

"I am a scientist, and in being a scientist, I have many questions about many things. It's only natural that I seek answers."

"Answers through hurting both humans and Pokemon?" asked Ash.

Now Artemis was surprised and stopped his pace.

"I know more than you think. I know that you where once Professor Oak's apprentice and hurt Pokemon, then when the Professor wanted to quit, you wanted to go on. You wanted to experiment on humans." Ash was happy that he finally knew something to turn the tables. He now had the element of surprise instead of Artemis.

Artemis stood quietly for a few moments, maybe considering what to do next or how this is happening. It was hard to tell what was going on underneath that hood of his.

But then, Artemis started clapping his hands.

"Congratulations, Ash. I am impressed."

Ash was shocked. Shouldn't Artemis be the one surprised? Shouldn't he be the one that's shocked? And yet he's clapping?

Artemis stopped clapping and continued walking.

"Yes, I was that professor of yours 'apprentice'. We worked hard together for some time, but he decided to stop, to quit, right when we where close to a breakthrough."

Artemis shook his head.

"So close, yet so far. His mind was filled with worry and concern, not on the information that we gathered, like it should have been."

"He should have been concerned for those Pokemon you two hurt. How could you not feel that when you see something die or injured?"

Artemis paused again. "I have learned to control and contain my emotions. It helps me think clearly and keep focused on more important things. That's why I apologized, I usually can control these things." He continued walking.

"How could you be so heartless?" asked Ash.

"This is off the subject, is it not? At this rate, you won't let me answer any of your questions. Chose one at a time."

Ash sighed. Obviously, Artemis doesn't want to talk about the professor or his emotions. Ash cleared his head and thought of his first question.

"Fine. What questions and what answers are you looking for?"

Artemis walked behind Ash and leaned over to his ear.

"To life," he whispered.

Two words that mean so much. Two words that sent Ash's head spinning with more questions. Two words that explain what everyone is looking for, not only Artemis.

"To life?" asked Ash.

"Yes, Ash. Life."

Artemis started walking over to the front of Ash.

"For as long as I can remember, I have been looking for the answers of life. Some questions that I seek are the same that others ask themselves, other questions that I have are quite . . . different than most people's."

Ash was still confused. Artemis needed him to find the answers to life? How could this, any of this help answer any of those kind of questions?

"But Artemis, why me? How could I answer the questions of life?" asked Ash.

Artemis did another small chuckle.

"It seems that I will have to answer those questions another time," he said.

"What? Why?" asked Ash.

Artemis pointed at Ash. Ash looked down at his body and saw that he was fading again. He was waking up?

"Next time, I will ask the questions and you answer them for me. But for now, I will see you later," said Artemis.

Ash's body disappeared and now his head was starting to go away.

"Wait!" screamed Ash, but it was too late.

* * *

Ash awoke with a start, sweating cold sweat and breathing heavily. He looked around him. He was at his old house, laying on the pallet he had made the night before.

His Pikachu ears twitched. Someone was crying.

Ash looked to his left and saw Xander, he was crying in his sleep. He must've been the reason why Ash woke up.

Ash sighed, got up, and walked over to his crying son.

"Sh, sh . . . it's okay, Xan. I'm here, I'm here," said Ash smoothly, trying to calm his son down.

But Xander wouldn't stop. He kept on crying and crying, occasionally taking in a breath to get the next wail ready.

Ash sighed and looked around. It was still dark and everyone must still be asleep (or until Xan wakes them up). He has to keep Xan quite so that he doesn't wake everyone up.

Ash picked up and cradled his son in his arms and walked out of the room and into the kitchen. When he got there, he looked at the clock that hung on one of the walls.

1:35 in the morning. Ash sighed again. How do you quiet a baby Pichu at 1:35 in the morning?

Ash tried rocking him in his arms. It quieted him a little, but he was still whimpering. _What to do? What to do?_ Thought Ash.

Hungry? Ash walked over to the pantry and opened it. There was food, but all of the Pokemon food was stored at the very top of the pantry, out of Ash's grasp. That's a no.

Thirsty? Ash closed the pantry door and walked over to the fridge. When he opened the refrigerator door, he started to think: What does a baby Pichu drink? Milk? Water? Juice?

Another sigh. _This is harder than I thought._

Xander started crying louder. Ash started rocking his arms again, trying his best to keep his son quiet, and reached for a bottle of water in the fridge.

"Are you thirsty, Xan?" asked Ash, quietly.

He opened the top and placed the bottle to Xander's lips. The baby Pichu, with eyes still closed, opened his mouth and started sucking on the bottle, but after unsuccessfully getting anything out of the bottle, he started crying again.

"No, no, no! Sh, sh! Quiet! What's wrong?" asked Ash, trying desperately to quiet down Xan.

But Xander didn't say anything, he just continued to cry with his eyes closed.

Ash reached for a juice box, stabbed the straw in, and placed the straw to Xan's lips. Again, this time not even trying to drink it, Xander refused the juice and continued crying.

Ash looked back into the fridge. The only thing left to drink was the milk, but it was in a large gallon container, much too heavy for his little body to carry while holding a baby.

Xander started crying louder and made Ash flinch. He had no choice. Ash reached for the milk and attempted to lift it up. Amazingly, the milk was much lighter than Ash expected, almost felt like he was lifting up an empty glass than a full gallon of milk.

Now that he thought about it, Ash has been noticing that his strength has gotten much stronger. Must be another ability that came with the potion.

Before Ash could think more about it, Xan started crying louder and made Ash move faster. _Now where are those glasses again?_

Ash looked up at the cabinets. That was where they were last time, but he couldn't reach all the way up there. Ash looked around for any kind of container, glass, cup, anything that could hold milk.

Eventually, Ash found a glass half-way filled with water on the table. That will have to do. Ash placed the milk down on the floor, that way he would be able to get the glass with less difficulty.

Ash kept rocking Xander while he walked over to the table, climbed on top of one of the chairs, and grabbed the glass. Then, he got back down, drank the water in haste, and filled the glass with milk.

"Okay, is this what you want?" asked Ash as he held the milk filled glass to his son's lips.

But, once again, Xander refused the drink and continued crying, but now started wailing. Ash didn't know what to do. He tried everything, but Xan just doesn't want anything, and he's probably going to wake everyone up if he keeps crying like this.

"What is it that you want? Just please be quiet! Please!"

But Xander kept crying and crying and crying.

Ash still didn't know what to do. He grabbed the gallon of milk and opened the refrigerator door to put it back. After that he closed the door and saw that his mom was standing right behind it. She startled him that he almost forgot that he was holding Xander.

"Having a little trouble?" she asked.

Ash looked down at his crying son and nodded.

"I don't know what to do, Mom."

"Here, give him to me," she said with open arms.

Ash gave Xander to her and watched her cradle him. She started rocking him in her arms and then started humming. It was a soft, slow, relaxing hum, the kind that make people go to sleep. Maybe it was even a lullaby.

As she hummed, Xan's crying got quieter and quieter. Soon, it was just him breathing with noise. Then, he stopped crying completely and went back to sleep. Ash was wide eyed.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

His mom smiled.

"He must've had a bad dream, that's all. When stuff like this happen, just try to sit down and rock him back to sleep."

She haded him back Xander. Ash took him and cradled him in his arms.

"Here, put him back in his bed and let him sleep."

"Thanks, Mom, but how did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That he had a bad dream."

She giggled. "It's just a mother's instinct."

A mother's instinct, probably something he will never get. Ash turned around and headed over to Xan's room.

"Ash."

"Yeah, Mom?"

Ash turned around. His mother was looking into space, as if remembering an old memory of something she treasured.

"Xander, your son . . . he acts just like you did when you were little."

"What do you mean?" asked Ash.

His mom closed her eyes and shook her head.

"That's exactly what you did to me at his age," she said.

Ash looked down at his sleeping son one more time. _Exactly . . . what I did?_

"Okay, okay. Go on to bed with the both of you. You have a big day ahead of you."

Ash looked up, nodded, and went back to his room while saying good night to his mother.

* * *

"Sir, permission to speak."

"You may," answered Giovanni.

In Giovanni's room, at Team Rocket HQ, another member of the organization stood in front of the all powerful leader with a question.

"Just earlier you told fellow members Jessie and James to attack our enemies, why sir?"

"Because Team Aqua has been kidnaping our scientists and stealing our equipment, plus they are now considered a threat ever since that attack they tried on us," said Giovanni with a frown.

"Not that, sir. Why did you pick them? Why not someone else that has actually done something to prove their worth to this organization?" asked the Team Rocket man.

Giovanni turned around in his chair to face the window. Persian walked up to him and nudged his hand, wanting Giovanni to pet him. Giovanni raised his hand away from the Pokemon, then started petting the cat, making him purr.

"I picked those two fools for two reasons," started Giovanni, not looking at the man. "One, they were the only active group near Team Aqua, and two, I need a distraction."

"A distraction?" asked the man, forgetting to say "sir".

"Yes, a distraction."

"For what?"

Giovanni eyed over his shoulder, sending shivers up the man's back.

"For what . . . sir?" said the man, correcting himself.

Giovanni stopped eyeing him and looked out of his window. It was night time and the city was bright with lights. With each of those lights is a person. A normal person with a normal, everyday life. An everyday life that is as insignificant as any of the other lights in this city.

"Our own attack. We will make an offensive attack right under their noses. They won't even know what hit them." said Giovanni, thinking back to the subject.

"Offensive attack? Why was no one told this, sir?"

"I just told you, did I not?"

The man gulped and agreed. It was never smart to argue with the boss.

"But, sir, how are you so sure that Jessie and James will make a big enough distraction for such an attack?" asked the man.

Giovanni turned his chair to face the man. Persian walked over to face him too, while his master continued to pet him.

"They are idiots. They cannot and have not done anything right. They have never given me even one rare Pokemon to please me with. Whenever I tell them to do something, they go without strategy, without thinking ahead, and without any strength to back up their 'attack'. If I tell them to attack a major organization, they will go at full speed and probably might end up in hurting themselves than the enemy, but that will take the enemy's full attention to those fools, which will give us plenty of time to attack them right where it hurts them most. Then from there, we'll get them from the inside, out."

"But, sir, what if they do get hurt . . . or worse?" asked the man.

Giovanni laughed.

"Like I said, they are idiots. If they do get injured, than it's not a problem to me. In fact, it will help me get rid of those fools. Save me money and supplies."

"You mean . . . you don't care if they're . . ." the man didn't want to say it.

Giovanni turned around his chair once again. He then answered with a low, deep, evil, "No."

The man stood silent, thinking about what he had just heard.

"Are you still here?" asked Giovanni.

"Yes, sir."

"Then maybe you would like to join those fools?"

"No, sir."

"Then, GO! Tell the other real members to get everything ready for the attack. We attack tomorrow night."

"Yes, sir. On my way now, sir."

The man turned and walked out of the room. Giovanni folded his hands together with a smile. Persian looked up at his master's face. Giovanni looked back down at his Pokemon.

"Soon, my friend, we will be rid of our dead-wight and of our enemies."

* * *

Ash didn't get any sleep after Xander woke him up. Well, in a way, that was a good thing because that meant that he didn't have to enter Artemis' mind again, but that also meant that his questions might not be answered any time soon.

On the other hand, not getting much sleep meant not having enough energy in the morning, which was exactly how Ash felt when morning came.

"Good morning, Ash," said his mother with a smile when she saw him walking into the kitchen.

"Morning, Mom," mumbled Ash while rubbing his eyes.

Ash could smell pancakes being cooked. That must be what his mother is making this morning for breakfast.

As Ash looked around in the kitchen, he saw that Brock and May where also awake. When they saw him, they waved and said good morning to him.

"Hey Ash, why do you look so tired?" asked Brock after seeing Ash's tired face.

"Didn't get much sleep last night," answered Ash as he opened his mouth for a loud yon.

"Well, better eat something, that will give you at least a little bit of energy."

Ash half nodded, mainly because he was too tired to do a full nod. He walked over to one of the chairs, climbed up on it, curled up, and tried to sleep. Brock shook his head.

"If Ash is this tired, than he won't be able to train himself today for Team Aqua."

"Ash, why didn't you get any sleep last night?" asked May.

Ash mumbled something under his breath and turned over.

"What, Ash?"

"I said that Xan woke me up and I couldn't go back to sleep," said Ash, louder this time.

"Who's Xan?" asked Brock.

"That what we've named Ash's son. Xander, but sometimes we just say Xan for short," explained Ash's mom from in front of the oven.

"You named him?" asked May.

"We both did, last night."

She gave another smile, then did a small head count.

"Hey, where is that other boy? That one with the glasses? Is he still asleep?"

May nodded her head, but then noticed that someone else was still missing.

"Has anybody seen Pikachu anywhere?" she asked.

"I told Mr. Mime to give him a bath, that Pikachu was very dirty. In fact, now that I think about it, Ash needs to take a bath himself," said Ash's mother.

She asked Brock if he could watch the pancakes for her, then walked over and picked up Ash off the chair.

"Hm?" said Ash, sleepily when he could feel himself being lifted.

His mom took him outside to where Mr. Mime was giving Pikachu a bath and told him to give Ash a bath as well. Mr. Mime nodded and went to grab another bucket of water. Pikachu stayed in the inflatable pool (which was his "bath tub") and kept playing in the water.

When he saw that Ash was going to join him, he smiled and "Cha!"ed.

Ash's mom placed Ash in the water of the bath and walked back into the house. After feeling the water bellow him, Ash woke up and looked around himself.

"How? What?" he asked himself.

Then he saw his happy Pikachu smiling at him.

"Pikachu? What are- Hey!"

Mr. Mime came back and poured a whole bucket of water on top of Ash's head. Luckily, it was warm, but the sudden rush of water made Ash wide awake.

Pikachu laughed at seeing his trainer's face when the water was poured. He even decided to add to it and start splashing water at Ash in a playful manner. Ash covered his face so that none of the water would get in his eyes and tried to splash Pikachu back.

While they played in the water, Mr. Mime got some soap and started washing the both of them.

* * *

"Find anything yet?" asked Jessie.

"Nope, nothing over here," answered James, not removing his eyes from the binoculars.

"What about you, Meowth?"

"Still nothin'. All I see are houses and grass. I haven't even seen any good Pokemon to catch," replayed Meowth.

Jessie sighed. This is their only chance to get this promotion that they have been waiting for, for so long, and it seems that they keep messing it up!

First, Meowth had the great idea of putting rocket boosters on the hot-air balloon to try to get to Pallet Town in the shortest amount of time. Well, it did make them go fast and it did take them near Pallet Town, but the boosters short-circuited and blew up, blasting them off again, and sent them about ten miles off course. Jessie happily slapped James for pressing the button that said DO NOT PRESS on the rockets.

After that, they had to walk the rest of the way back on course while running away from an angry flock of Pidgeotto that they accidently landed on after they "basted off".

Then, they met a couple of their old "friends" ("friends" as in people that they tried to steal Pokemon from). So, you could imagine how. . . "happy", their friends where when they saw Team Rocket again.

Jessie rubbed the back of her head were a Hitmonchan punched her at. Man, those guys sure do know to hit where it hurts.

And now, they're finally in Pallet Town, hidden in the tops of the trees, but can't find anything. Not a hint of Team Aqua anywhere, there weren't even very many battles going on.

"What about that radar that you had, Meowth?" asked Jessie.

Meowth pulled it out and turned it on. Immediately the radar started beeping as it scanned.

"Huh, that's odd," he said.

"What is?" asked Jessie.

"It's not showing anything. I could've sworn that there was a big glob of dots near here, now there's just the usual dot here and there."

Then, the radar stopped beeping. It started shaking and shooting out sparks of small electricity, then it stopped and a black smoke came out of its top.

"Now, what?" said Jessie, annoyed at their bad luck already.

"I don't know. When I tried to do a few adjustments, it started acting weird."

Jessie sighed. "There is no way my luck is this bad."

"Hey! I see something!" shouted James from his branch.

"What?" asked Jessie excitedly.

James adjusted the focus on his binoculars so that he could see what he was seeing better.

"I . . . I think I see the twerps," he said, unsure.

"What do you mean 'I think'?"

"Right now, I see a Pikachu that looks just like the twerps' Pikachu, and I see that one Pikachu with the hat and could talk," said James.

"Let me see," demanded Jessie.

She shoved James over on his branch, nearly knocking him off balance, and looked through one lens while James regained his balance and looked through the other.

She saw two Pikachus taking a bath in a inflatable pool. One Pikachu did, in fact, look exactly like the one they have been trying to steal from the twerps and the other Pikachu did have a hat and did look like the one they met that could talk.

"Is it possible?" asked Jessie. It was next to impossible that they would go back to the other side of the world and meet their old nemesis again.

"Only one way to find out!" said Meowth, who was looking in the same direction as they were with his pair of binoculars.

"How?" asked both Jessie and James at the same time.

Meowth pulled out a big, thick remote. Where he got it and how he got it, no one knew, but Jessie and James stayed quiet with anticipation.

"We do it how we've always been doin' it. Catch em!"

"Woe, hold on, Meowth. Why should we be wasting our time trying to fight the twerps again? We need to stay on track and find Team Aqua," said Jessie. James agreed.

"That's true," started Meowth. " But we have no idea where they are at, and the last clue we got of where they could be at was near here. Coincidently, the twerps are right where we were headed, if they are the twerps." Meowth pause to check if everyone was following. They were. "So, we catch them, bring them in and make them spill the beans! Simple!"

"But how are we going to catch them? All the other times that we've tried to catch their Pokemon, they always got them back and blasted us off," said Jessie while hanging her head.

Were they such losers? Could they possibly be so pathetic?

What was even the point in trying? They would just end up losing again, just like all the other times.

"Well, I just might have the answer!" said Meowth triumphantly while holding up the remote.

"If it's just another robot, forget it, Meowth. That includes giant hands, nets, costumes, or anything in-between," said Jessie, not lifting her head.

Meowth's triumph was slowly erased from his face and he put the remote down.

"You're right, Jessie. We're just failures. What's the use."

"Wait, gang! I got an idea!" shouted James.

Jessie and Meowth sightly lifted their head towards James.

"What if we don't catch them or anything at all!"

"What are you talking about, James?" asked Jessie.

"Well, all our other attempts failed, right? So, instead of us trying to catch them, why don't we let them catch us?" said James with a smile.

Jessie was already getting annoyed and was about to slap James again, but Meowth stopped her.

"Wait, James could be on to somethin'."

Jessie looked close at Meowth's face, then at James.

"All right, we'll do it. So what's the plan?"

James smiled and whispered it in to the two of them. When he was done, Jessie and Meowth's eyes were wide with amassment.

"Wow, James. I never knew you where so smart," said Jessie.

James looked away, annoyed, and looked through his binoculars again.

"Okay, when I give the signal, we go, got it?"

Everyone nodded.

* * *

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"We have everything ready for the attack, sir."

"Good."

A man, hidden in the shadows of his office looked at the screens in front of him, away from the young man behind him.

"Permission to speak, sir."

The man stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, then replied, "No."

The young one stayed quiet, still wanting to ask his question, but didn't dare to break any of the rules. The man turned around and faced the young one. After seeing the expression on his face, he continued, "Well, if you just have to say something, say it."

"Sir, I just want to ask about the x-spy." He talked with his back straight and arms down his side. He was always known for having perfect behavior and posture and because of it, most of the people here respect him.

"The 'x-spy'?"

"That's what me and the boys call the girl, sir. The girl named 'May'."

"And why do you call her that?"

"Because she's just like a spy for us, sir, but she doesn't know it."

The man chuckled, making the young one shiver.

"I suppose that's a fitting name for her. What about her?"

"Well, sir, after hearing that she was ordered to take out Team Aqua, I just started to wonder . . ."

"Wonder what? Come on, boy! If you have something to say, say it!" The man was starting to get tired.

The young one cleared his throat.

"I was wondering why, sir. Why did you send her to do something like that? She doesn't know anything about Team Aqua's base or even what's in it. We might as well be sending her and her friends to their graveyard."

The man started laughing. A harsh, evil laugh that made the hair on the back of the young one's neck stick straight up.

"That's a good one!" He laughed some more. "Send them to their graveyard! Oh, I've got to write that one down!" He kept laughing until it was just a chuckle, then stopped.

"You find it funny, sir?"

"Do I sense some worry in you? Are you worried about some girl and her friends?"

"Well, we have met them before, sir, and sometimes they actually helped us . . . a little."

The man, still hidden in the shadows, scratched his chin, acting like he was considering it.

"And they have also done the exact opposite. Ruining our plans and our dignity, and now we have a chance of . . . hurting our enemies and while getting ride of those pests." He scratched his chin some more. "I would say that is a good deal, wouldn't you?"

The young Team Magma member stood still, watching his leader in disbelief.

"But, sir, surely you don't want someone to-"

"When necessary, I do," said the Team Magma leader, cutting him off.

He turned back around to face to screens again.

"That will be all. Now leave."

The young member turned and left, pitying the girl named May and her friends. It seems like they don't have a chance.

Unless they could possibly wait for the Team Magma attack.

**This should turn a couple heads. Lol**

**Sorry that this took so long, everybody! It's just that I went to Disney and all, but now that I'm back, I have plenty of time to write my stories! So, they should be coming in faster than usual. Thanks for everything!**


	13. Chapter 13

Inner Strength part 13

Ash splashed some more water on Pikachu. Mr. Mime had left to get some more soap, so they used the time to have a little water war.

"Ah! You got me!" Ash said playfully as another splash of water was sent to his face. "How's this?" This time, he got revenge on Pikachu with a huge wave of water towards his Pokemon friend.

Pikachu laughed as the water hit his face and sent some more over to Ash again. They played with each other in their bath for what seamed like hours, splashing, spraying, and swimming.

However, when Ash was getting ready to send another wave of water towards Pikachu, he paused. His new, better Pikachu ears where twitching at an unfamiliar noise. Pikachu heard it too and stopped playing.

To their left, there were some bushes and trees that made a small forest. Some of the trees started moving, but it defiantly wasn't from the wind.

Both friends stood still in the inflatable pool, listening and waiting.

Then, out of the forest, came out a giant, white robot with a huge "R" across its chest.

"Team Rocket!" shouted Ash in anger.

The robot had two thick arms with a claw at the end of each arm. The legs where thick with metal and looked unbreakable.

At the top of the robot was a transparent dome, revealing Jessie, James, and Meowth. Jessie and Meowth sat in the back while James sat more in the front of the dome.

"That's right!" said Jessie out of a speaker from the robot. "Now, prepare for trouble!"

"And make tha-"

"Do you always have to do that stupid moto every time we meet?" shouted Ash. It really did get annoying after awhile.

"Well, you don't have to be rude about it!" shouted Jessie. "Get them!"

Both of the robot's giant arms reached down to Ash and Pikachu and grabbed them, holding them with amazing strength, and raised them up off the ground. Ash and Pikachu both tried to squeeze and struggle out, but the robot was too strong.

"Agh. Pikachu! Thundershock!" commanded Ash to his Pokemon friend.

Pikachu stopped trying to struggle out of the robot's hands and released a blot of thunder out from his body and into the robot's.

The electricity erupted out of Pikachu's body and swarmed into the robot.

Yellow streaks of static and thunder flowed through the robot, but didn't have any effect on it.

"Ha, ha, ha! That little trick won't work this time, you little brat," said Jessie, happily from inside the robot.

"Yep, that's right! The metal that this robot is made out of is covered with a thin layer of unbreakable plastic!" said Meowth, boastfully. "I could say the scientific word, but I can't pronounce it."

"Ha, ha! We've got them now, Jessie!" said James, holding two joysticks in front of his seat.

Ash tried to squirm free again, but the robot's clutch was still just too strong. He looked around, no one was outside and Mr. Mime still hasn't gotten back from getting the soap. He had to get everyone out here! But how?

_Noise._

Ash looked around him. That voice sounded like someone was right next to his ear and whispered it. Pikachu was too busy trying to squirm out of the robot's claws to be able to talk vocally or telepathically.

No time to think about it. If he could make enough noise, maybe everyone inside could hear him and come out.

"May! Brock! Max! Mom! Somebody come out here!" shouted Ash.

Pikachu found out what his trainer was trying to do, so he started shouting himself, trying to get anyone's attention. But, as they were shouting, a clear glass came out of the robots claws and covered them up.

"Don't bother. They can't hear you with these over you," said Jessie and started laughing.

Ash looked at the glass now covering him. Glass isn't an conductor of electricity, so another thundershock wouldn't work.

_Come on, Ash. Think, think!_ He told himself.

He reached his paw out and touched the glass.

He can reach it! Ash pulled back a clenched fist and slammed it into the glass, shattering it into pieces. The shattered glass landed on the ground and even on the house, banging on the windows and walls.

Pikachu saw what his trainer did and scratched his claws on the glass covering him until it, too, broke into shatters.

"James! You said that you made those out of plastic!" said Jessie.

"I thought that you told me to get glass," said James, looking away from Jessie's angry eyes.

All of the noise and shattered glass banging on the house made everyone inside curious and worried, so everyone hurried outside.

Soon enough, May, Brock, Max, and Ash's mother came running outside and saw Team Rocket and their robot.

"Team Rocket! What are they doing here?" said Max.

"They have Ash and Pikachu!" said May in terror.

Ash's mother gasped in shock and worry, covering her mouth with her hands.

Team Rocket, up in their robot, could hear what the "twerps" were saying.

"Did they say 'Ash and Pikachu'?" asked James.

Jessie and Meowth pondered for a little bit, then looked at the two Pikachus they had in their robot's grasp. Indeed the second one with the all-too-familiar hat did look just like that twerp named Ash.

"Ash is a Pikachu?!" asked Meowth, both shocked and amazed.

"I just thought that they caught another Pikachu. I didn't even consider this! All though, it does explain a few things," said Jessie.

The Team looked at each other, then shrugged.

"Hey! Imagine what Team Rocket could learn with that! If we catch that twerp that's now a Pikachu, and complete our mission, Giovanni will be so pleased with us, he might give us an even bigger promotion!" said James.

Jessie pondered it, then nodded her head with a smile.

"Yeah! I bet he will go high-over-heels with this twerp! Now, Meowth, pull them in!"

"With pleasure!" said Meowth while about to press a button, but James came running over and stopped him.

"Meowth, you always get to push the buttons. Could I push one this time?" he asked.

Meowth was surprised and slightly confused.

"Why?"

"Because I have never pressed a button and I want to know how it feels," said James with an excited face.

Meowth gave him an odd look. A look that said, "Are you okay?" But, he stepped to the side and let James press his button. James jumped for joy and placed his finger on a button.

"NO! Not that one!" shouted Meowth, but was too late.

James pressed the button and gave a shrill of excitement.

Around them, with the speakers that were built inside the robot, a recorded voice came.

"Self-destruct has now been activated. Self-destruct will begin in ten seconds."

"James! What button did you press?" shouted Jessie.

James looked at the button that he pressed. The words DO NOT PRESS were written in big, bold letters across the button.

"Oops." That was all James could think of to say.

"Eight seconds."

"Oops?! James, we had them! WE HAD THEM!" shouted Jessie in anger.

"Six seconds."

"I'm sorry, Jessie. I just thought that since we were going to win, I could press a button for once in my life," explained James, but wasn't successful in calming down Jessie.

"Four seconds."

"You just had to press a button this time, James? And now look what happened!" said Meowth.

"Two seconds."

"I'm really sorry guys."

"'Sorry' isn't going to help us now! When this is over, I don't ever want to see you again!"

"One second."

"But, Jessie! It was only a-"

"Shut it!" She slapped him hard across his cheek, making sure that it hurt. "From now on, you are no longer a member of Team Rocket!"

"Self-destruct will now terminate. Good bye."

* * *

May got out her Poke ball.

"Come on, Combusken! We have to help Ash!" she shouted and threw out her Poke ball, releasing a red beam of light that turned into her Combusken.

Brock got out one of his Poke balls and got ready to throw it.

"Come on out-" started Brock, but didn't need to for Team Rocket's robot burst into flames and exploded.

The explosion flung Jessie and Meowth into the air, sending them flying, but sent James, Pikachu, and Ash straight to the ground near everyone else, making them "oof" on impact.

The sudden change to their advantaged made everyone stand still with shock.

The only thing Brock could say was, "Huh?"

"What just happened? Just a second ago, you were trapped with Team Rocket, then we beat them without even trying," said May, withdrawing her Pokemon back into her Poke ball.

"I'm just as confused as you are, May," said Ash, trying to get back up.

When Pikachu finally got back to his feet, he noticed that James was right next to them. He immediately braced himself and got ready to release another thunderbolt.

James got into a small coughing fit as he tried to get bkac up, which caught everyone's attention. Soon, everyone got into attack mode when they realized that James was with them.

Apparently, James didn't even know that he was with the twerps, for when he got back to his feet and saw them, he flinched and staggered backwards.

Out of desperation, James quickly grabbed his Poke Ball and threw it.

"Go, Cacnea!" he shouted as the Poke Ball opened and released the Pokemon inside.

As soon as the Pokemon came out, Pikachu released his thunderbolt and slammed it on James' Pokemon. The creature didn't even have a chance to defend itself and fell to the ground, knocked out.

James stood there, mouth open and awestruck. He didn't know what to do next. Jessie and Meowth weren't here to back him up, and he didn't have an escape plan.

Well . . . there was one escape plan. . .

"Cacnea, return!" James thrust his hand out with the Poke ball and returned the Cacnea. After that, he quickly spun around and ran like hell was loose, screaming at the top of his lungs, "AH! HELP!"

James tried to run all the way back into the forest, but that twerp that was turned into a Pikachu appeared right in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. Then, the twerp jumped up and slammed his tail right into James' face.

The ex-Team Rocket member fell to the ground, knocked out just like his Pokemon.

* * *

"Okay, does anyone have any idea what to do with him?" asked Ash.

"He is a part of Team Rocket. I say we put him in jail were he belongs!" said May.

"No! We can't do that, May," said Max. "Remember? The police are after us too."

May was about to object, but couldn't find anything to back it up and closed her mouth.

They were back inside Ash's house. After Ash had stopped one of the Team Rocket members from escaping, they got some rope from Ash's mom and tied him up.

They placed him in a corner of the house, away from them, and were now discussing what exactly to do with him.

"I say that we keep him here and keep a close eye on him. Maybe we could even get some information out of him about Team Rocket," said Max.

"Why would we want to do that? Right now, we're more worried about Team Aqua than any of the other organizations," said May.

"No, Max is right. I have a feeling that Team Rocket is somehow connected to all of this," said Brock.

"How?" asked Ash. "How could Team Rocket be tied into Team Aqua's affaires?"

Brock shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, I just have this feeling inside me," said Brock. "Just please, guys. Lets just keep him for a little bit and try to get some answers out of him. If my hunch is correct, then maybe we could find a way to beat Team Aqua."

Ash thought about it. Everyone thought about it. This was the first time that they have ever captured anyone from Team Rocket.

_Well, I don't know about "captured", _thought Ash. He turned to Pikachu.

"What do you think, Pikachu?"

Pikachu looked at his trainer. In any other day, he would have been looking up to see his trainer's face, but since Ash is his size now, he doesn't have to do that.

"I don't know, Ash. I just don't trust him at all and don't want to take any risks with him around," he said while eyeing James, remembering all of those times that he had tried to steal him and take him away from his best friend.

James woke up awhile earlier, noticing his arms and legs tied up in strong knots. He started watching the twerps talk about what to do to him, waiting for something to happen to him.

He looked down at his ropes and check again my pulling his arms and legs apart.

Still tight as ever. No way from him to get out without any help.

James sighed. The twerps were still huddled on the other side, still talking about him. He strained his ears, but couldn't make out any words they were saying.

But, by the tone in their voices, he could tell that they still didn't exactly want him. He sighed again. Looks like he needs to get some of their trust if this is going to work.

* * *

Jessie sat back up and looked around. It seems that she and Meowth landed in the middle of a forest. The ground that they were now sitting on was very soft and fertile.

After seeing that she was all dirty, Jessie started dusting herself off from all of the dirt that now covered her.

"You think it worked?" asked Meowth, attempting to stand up from such a fall.

"It had better, otherwise I am going to get James for this. He's probably sitting in the AC and filling himself up with food by now!" Jessie pictured James stuffing his face with an endless supply of delicious food.

The more she thought about him doing that, the more she actually got mad and annoyed at him.

"If this doesn't work . . . oh, I'll show him!" promised Jessie.

"As if you already haven't?" mumbled Meowth.

Jessie heard his remark and slapped him over the head with the back of her hand, sending his face straight back the ground and filling his mouth with dirt.

"Would you rather want me to show you first, or James?" asked Jessie.

Meowth tried to say something, but the only thing that came out was a groan of pain with his dirt filled mouth.

"I'll take that as a 'James first'."

Jessie looked away from Meowth and pulled out a small black screen from her pocket. As Meowth got back to his feet, she turned the screen on.

Three red dots started blinking along with green lines of latitude and longitude. Two of the red dots where close together while the third was farther away, by itself.

"Looks like we weren't blasted off too far away. James is only a couple miles from here," said Jessie.

Meowth spit out some of the dirt and turned to Jessie.

"Wait, where did you get that?" asked Meowth, pointing at Jessie's screen.

Jessie put the small screen back into her pocket before answering.

"Before we brought the robot over to the twerps, I was able to take out a few parts and make this tracker."

"But how are you able to track James?" asked Meowth.

"I put a tracking chip in his hair, along with you and me."

"You put one in me?" Meowth started feeling around in his hair, checking his tail, his legs, his arms, and his head.

"Don't bother, Meowth. It's too small for you to see even if you did find it."

After hearing that, Meowth stopped looking for the chip, for a new question came to him.

"But, Jessie? How could you have made a chip that small and that fast?" asked Meowth.

Jessie stood up and dusted her legs off.

"What do you think I do to entertain myself on those long balloon floats or those long walks? Stare at the horizon? Wonder what it would've been like to have actually catch a Pokemon?"

She finished dusting herself and started walking out of the forest. Meowth followed her while still considering what she said.

"Ya' know, Meowth, I was wondering something," said Jessie.

"What's that?"

"How did you make it to where James would fly towards the twerps instead of with us?"

Meowth chuckled at hearing Jessie amazed voice at his creation.

"It was very simple actually," started Meowth. "The button that James pressed was right on top of where the explosion started. So, when I backed away from the button, I was farther away and closer to you. Plus, the floor that we stood on was actually angled away from the twerps, but the side of the button that James stood on was angled towards the twerps. That way, we would blast off away from the twerps while James blast off towards them."

"Just like we planned," muttered Jessie.

* * *

"Okay, we could do that, but we don't have a lie detector!" said Max, annoyed at his sister's suggestion.

"Sorry, just a thought," said May at hearing her brother's annoyed voice.

Ash walked away from the group. It was obvious that this was getting nowhere.

He started wondering what the Professor was doing and went to the phone.

"Please wait while your party is reached," said the computerized voice when Ash dailed the number.

He waited through elevator music that was played while "his party was being reached". Soon, the music stopped and the screen showed Prof. Oak at his desk.

But he wasn't just at his desk. His desk was filled with papers, notes, folders, and scrolls, but it was his body that Ash was looking at. The professor had his face berried in the papers, asleep. Ash could even hear the professor snoring.

"Prof. Oak?" said Ash.

The sleeping professor mumbled something in his sleep, but didn't awake.

"Professor!" shouted Ash.

Oak awoke with a start and started fumbling with his papers, expecting that something was happening to him.

Soon, he calmed down and saw that Ash was on his phone.

"Oh, it's just you Ash," he said.

"Sorry to wake you Professor," apologized Ash.

"No, no. No need to apologize, Ash. I needed to wake up anyway."

Oak let out a long yawn and smacked his lips.

"Why are you so tired?" asked Ash.

Oak looked behind him and at his desk filled with papers.

"I've been looking for something to help us with Team Aqua's base. I've gotten every kind of blue prints known to man, but I can't figure out which ones are the right ones or if any of them are right at all." He let out another yawn and looked at his watch. "It seems that I have been working for over twenty-three hours."

"You've been working that long?" asked Ash, surprised. "Did you find anything? Anything at all?"

"I'm afraid not, Ash."

"What about the antidote to change me back?"

Oak turned back to face Ash on the telephone screen. Ash could see the professor's eyes were almost completely covered with yellow and purple spots where there was supposed to be white.

"I'm sorry, Ash. I have been trying to get that as well. In fact, I have almost everything, but I need something strong enough."

Ash was confused. The professor must be so sleepy that he forgot to explain everything.

"What do you mean, 'not strong enough'?" asked Ash.

"The antidote is ready, but whenever I try it on your blood, it gives away, as if it's too weak to fully work. I need something that will not mess up the antidote and have enough power to make it work," explained Oak.

Ash sighed and thanked the professor, then turned off the phone.

He needed some time to himself for a little bit.

He walked over to his old room, the room that he had grown up in and dreamed of becoming the best trainer the world would have ever known.

All those dreams.

All those wishes.

Ash looked at his hands. His paws, now.

"_What is it that you want from this world?"_

Those words popped back into his head. Was it this dream that started all of this? Was it the want to be the best that made him get into this mess?

No. It probably would've happened no matter what he said.

Then again, maybe it was a good thing that this happened.

Ash climbed up onto his old bed and laid down on it, remembering all of the times he had slept on it and felt its warmth.

Maybe if this didn't have happened, he would've never known what happened to Misty and would have never have met Misty II.

Ash turned to his side. Misty II. It seems like it has been years since he had last seen her.

Did she live? Could she possibly still be alive?

Is she dead?

Ash sat up in his bed and tried to think of something else beside death.

_Come on! Cheer up! I'm sure that she's just fine_, thought Ash to himself. _You're probably overreacting._

Ash tried to continue calming himself down, but didn't need to for Pikachu walk into his room.

"So . . . this is your room," he said in his Pokemon tongue.

Ash jumped off of his bed and landed next to Pikachu.

"Yeah. It's not much, but this is where I used to live before I met you," said Ash.

Pikachu smiled and walked around, looking at his trainer's stuff in his room and examining everything.

When Pikachu came by a stuff toy Pikachu, he stopped and looked closely at it.

"Is this me?" he asked.

Ash chuckled and walked over to the toy.

"No, it's just a toy that I asked for when I was four." Ash looked at it, dusted it off a little, then placed it back to where it stood before. "I thought that since I wasn't old enough to collect real Pokemon, then maybe I could get the toy versions."

Pikachu looked at the toy, then looked around at all of the other toy Pokemon in the room.

Then Pikachu started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Ash.

"It's just." Pikachu had to calm himself down from his laughing fit to answer. "It's just that it seems funny that you where so obsessed with us. Are all humans like this when they're young?"

"I wasn't obsessed! I was just . . . I was just a little kid. I didn't know any better!" objected Ash.

"Right," said Pikachu.

Ash wanted to say something else, but couldn't think of anything and closed his mouth.

Pikachu continued looking around the room. He looked at the bed, in the closet, on the cabinets, everywhere. Ash followed his friend closely, just to see how curious his little partner is.

Pikachu found a small desk with a chair and thought about exploring that as well. He jumped on top of the chair, then jumped on the desk. Ash followed closely behind.

When both Pikachu and Ash got on the desk, they found a book laying on its side. Pikachu walked over to it and picked it up. The words "Ash's Journal" were written across the cover.

"You had a journal?" asked Pikachu.

Ash looked at the book, making sure that it was his.

"I don't remember ever having a journal," he said.

"You don't? Then who's could this be?" asked Pikachu.

"Your guess would probably be as good as mine," said Ash.

Pikachu was confused that his trainer couldn't remember something like this. He handed it to Ash and he opened it. Ash read the first page out loud so that Pikachu could hear.

"Monday. Dear Journal, today me and Gary got into a fight again. He said that just because his grandpa had a real Squirtle that he was better than me with Pokemon. I tried to tell him that I knew a lot about Pokemon, but he wouldn't listen.

We argued and argued for hours until his mom told him it was dinner time."

The rest just told about what he ate for dinner, so Ash skipped it and flipped the page.

The next page just told about how Ash got a new Pokemon toy to add to his collection, so he skipped that page as well.

Ash eventually just skipped all of the pages and went to the last page of "his" journal.

"Friday. Dear Journal, only two more days until I finally get to go on my quest to become the best Pokemon trainer the world has ever known. I so excited that I can't sleep! I still haven't decided which starter Pokemon to pick. Maybe Bulbasaur, because grass types have a good defensive advantage to them."

Pikachu gave Ash a look. Ash just chuckled and continued reading.

"Then again, Charmander, the fire type, has great aggressive moves. Good for taking opponents out quickly."

Pikachu gave Ash another look. Ash shook his head and continued reading again.

"However, Squirtle is a very balanced Pokemon, so having a water type might not be a bad idea."

"And you never even considered me," said Pikachu, giving Ash another look.

Ash looked up from the journal and at Pikachu.

"Look, I'm sorry Pikachu, but this was before I knew that I could've picked you. At this time, I thought that I had to choose between these three," said Ash.

Pikachu dismissed it and Ash kept reading.

"But that's not why I'm writing this," read Ash. This caught Pikachu's attention.

"When I was outside today, I thought that I could take a walk around the river and think about which Pokemon to pick. I always liked to go there, the water clams me and helps me think.

Anyway, when I got to the river, a giant flash of blue light came out of the water and blinded me for a couple seconds. When the light faded away and I was able to see again, a guy with blue clothes appeared next to the river, holding some rolled up papers."

Ash stopped and looked at Pikachu.

"Team Aqua?" asked Ash to his friend.Pikachu shrugged his shoulders.

"The man walked quickly over to some bushes and . . . went to the bathroom?"

Ash gave a questioned look at Pikachu, as if asking him if he read it right. Pikachu (once again) shrugged his shoulders.

"When the man was done doing his business, a whole nest of Beedrill came out of the bushes and attacked him. I guess that the man accidently 'went' on the Beedrill without knowing it.

The man tried to run away, but the Beedrill were already all over him and made him drop the papers. The man tried swatting them away, but that just made them mad, so he ran over to the river and jumped in. Another bright flash of blue light came and frightened the Beedrill away.

After all of the Beedrill had gone, I went and picked up the dropped papers the man had dropped. I stored them in my box underneath my bed so no one will find them.

I haven't told anyone about this except this journal, not even Mom knows about this. It makes me feel more like an adult and more responsible to have my own secret."

When Ash was done reading, Pikachu jumped off of the desk and landed next to the bed. As Ash closed the journal and followed, Pikachu crawled underneath the bed and searched for the box.

Soon Pikachu came crawling out of the bed with a big, black, metal box. It had a silver lock hanging in the middle of it on the locking part.

"Locked," said Pikachu.

Ash pulled the bottom of the lock up and showed that it was a combination lock. There were three rows of dials, all filled with ten different numbers each.

Ash didn't remember ever having this box. He didn't even remember ever having a journal, and yet, here they are, both saying that they belong to him.

"Open it," said Pikachu.

"What?" asked Ash.

"Open it. It's your box, you should know the combination."

"Maybe I should, but I don't remember any of this. I never even knew that I had a box under my bed. How should I know the combination?"

_3-7-2_. Those numbers just appeared in Ash's head, almost as if someone was saying them right next to his ear.

Ash got the lock and tried the numbers that appeared in his head.

The lock opened.

"I thought you said that you didn't know that combination," said Pikachu.

"I didn't," said Ash and opened the box.

In the box, laying on the very bottom, were some papers. Ash pull the papers out of the box and showed them to Pikachu while looking at them himself.

It was filled with shapes, numbers, mathematical equations, lines, and angles everywhere around some sort of dome.

Ash gasped.

They were the blue prints of the Team Aqua's base.

**I'm really sorry that this took so long everybody. I've been having writer's block lately and other things have appeared along with it.**

**For some reason, I feel like I didn't do so good on this one as I have on the others. If I have, please tell me. This is my first time that I've ever had writer's block and I'm not experienced with it.**


	14. Chapter 14

Inner Strength part 14

Ash held the blue prints before him and Pikachu. He didn't know how or why Team Aqua's blue prints to their base were underneath his own bed, but right now that didn't matter to him. He needed to get these to Prof. Oak ASAP!

Ash ran out of his room, with Pikachu closely following behind, and dashed out the door to his house.

Brock, May, Max, James, Mr. Mime, and Ash's mother saw him run right across their gaze and dash outside.

"What's with Ash?" asked May.

"I don't know, but it must be something important if he's running that fast," said Brock and walked over to the window. "He's heading for the professor's lab!"

"The lab?!" said Max, surprised as everyone else was.

Everyone (except Ash's mother and James) turned towards the door and ran outside to catch up with Ash.

* * *

BANG! Ash slammed open the front door to the lab, scaring all of the scientists half to death.

"Professor!" called Ash.

"Pika!" called Pikachu.

Ash ran over to the door which led into Oak's office, while passing by scared and confused assistants. Because of his small size, Ash jumped up to reach the doorknob (while still holding the blueprints in one paw), grabbed it, then turned the handle to open the door.

Pikachu, who was below Ash while he hanged onto the knob, pushed the door open, allowing both Pikachus into the office.

As Ash dropped down and ran into the office, Max, May, and Brock came through the front. May was able to get a small glimpse of Ash's yellow tail going into a room.

"There!" she said, pointing, and darted after Ash.

The group ran over to the now closed door, opened it, and ran in. Ash and Pikachu, however, stood still as they saw the professor.

Oak was at the same table that they found him at yesterday, with the cluster of papers everywhere, but this time there were also bottles and flasks amongst the cluster of paper. The professor, himself, was asleep in the middle of it again.

Ash walked up to the professor's leg and pushed it to wake him up.

Oak just ignored it and continued his sleeping.

"Professor! Please wake up!" yelled Ash.

Again, Oak was just too tired to wake up. Ash didn't want to wake him up, but he knew that he had to tell him what he had just found.

"Prof. Oak, wake up!" shouted Ash.

"Pika pikapi!" said Pikachu.

"Ash, maybe we shouldn't wake him," said May.

Ash turned around. He didn't notice that they were behind him. May, Max, and Brock were watching Ash and Pikachu with wondering eyes, pondering why they would need to wake the professor.

"Ash, what is it? Maybe instead of waking up Prof. Oak, you could ask us," suggested Brock.

Then Brock noticed the papers in Ash's paw.

"Ash, what are those in your hand?" he asked.

"The reason why we need Prof. Oak to wake up," replied Ash.

Ash turned back to face the sleeping professor. Oak was sitting on his chair, slumped over on his table, and his head was laying on his arms, which were also laying on the table.

Ash climbed up the professor's chair and got up on the table. From there, Ash got close to Oak's ear.

"Professor, we need you to wake up now!" shouted Ash.

The professor awoke with a start, startling Ash who was still right next to the scientist.

"Huh? What? Where?" mumbled Oak, still half asleep.

He looked down at Ash on his table.

"Oh. It's just a talking Pikachu . . ." He yawned. "Nothing to worry about."

Oak was about to lay his head back on the table when he realized that he wasn't dreaming. He quickly rubbed the crusty sleep in his eyes and looked at Ash.

"A-Ash? What are you doing here?"

The professor turned in his chair and saw that the rest of the gang was here.

"What is everyone —" He stopped to let out another long yawn. "— doing here?"

"We were just asking Ash that same thing," said Max.

The professor turned back around to face Ash again, still with a very tired look.

"Ash, I'm sorry that I was asleep again, but I've been working all day and night. Now, why did you have to wake me up?" asked Oak.

Ash held up the papers in his paw out to the professor.

"This is the reason why, professor. I found the blue prints to Team Aqua's base," said Ash.

May gasped, Max mumbled a "No way!" out of his breath, and Brock's closed eyes became even more clenched as the three heard the shocking news. Prof. Oak became wide-eyed and grabbed the papers out of Ash's paws.

"Could it be?" mumbled Oak as he pushed all of the other papers on his table aside and laid Ash's blue prints down.

Oak looked closely at the blue prints. He took out a calculator out of one of his pockets from his lab coat and placed it next to the prints.

The professor started pushing in numbers that he was apparently finding in the blue prints. When the numbers were computed in the calculator, the professor would write them down on the blue prints with his pencil that was laying on the table next to the other papers and beakers.

After some time of doing all of this, the professor wrote down one more number and looked at what he had found.

"Well, Ash, I'm still not sure how you found these or if these are even the real blue prints, but according to my calculations, this building was made to survive underwater," said Prof. Oak.

Ash nodded his head with a smile. He knew that these were real.

"And according to these numbers, I believe I have found a weak point to the building."

"Really? Where?" asked May. If she was sitting down, she would've been on the edge of her seat by now from the anticipation.

"Well, come on over here so I won't have to explain too much and confuse everyone," said the professor while getting out of his chair so that everyone could see the blue prints.

Everyone (except Ash, because he was already on the table) walked up to the table to look at the prints.

The building on the blue prints was very big by the looks of it. It was completely circular and round. All over the picture of the building were masses of numbers and equations. As Ash looked, he could see an equation for how thick the walls are, an equation for how far apart the outer-layer wall was to the inner-layer wall, there were even equations on how big each room in the building was.

But, what caught Ash's glance were not those numbers, but the names of each room. Particularly one room.

The Room.

"_I locked Ash up in The Room."_

"That's the room!" said Ash, almost shouting.

Everyone looked at him. The professor was about to say something else, but when Ash talked, he cut him off.

"What room?" asked Max.

"The Room! That's the place that they put me in when they captured me!" said Ash.

Brock looked down at the blue prints and saw the room labeled "The Room".

"How do you know for sure, Ash?" asked Brock.

"Because I was there, Brock," said Ash. "I heard Misty call it 'The Room'. They took me to their HQ!"

"I think Ash may be right," said the professor while pointing at the designs for The Room. "Look, according to this, The Room is covered with a dense, rubber, alloy and the only way out is in."

As the professor talked, he pointed out all of the markings that indicated so.

"So, this means that this room was made to keeping something electric in and never get out," finished Oak.

May leaned down to see the markings, but could not read them and gave up. This wasn't what she was looking for anyhow.

"But, Prof. Oak, how can we destroy it?" asked May, remembering the dot on her palm.

"I was just getting to that," said Oak.

He sighed. Whenever he tried to talk, someone else would interrupt him.

"All right, look," he started. "With such a big and complex building underwater, it will need a lot of electricity to keep it running, but because they are underwater there are no cables or telephone poles to bring any to them. So, that means that they must be making their own electricity."

"Generators," said Max.

The professor nodded his head.

"Yes, that should be their week point. Where the five of you need to go is right here," said the professor while pointing right at the middle of the blue prints. "Right in the very middle of the building."

"All the way there? But, that would be where most of the Team Aqua members would be at!" said Brock.

"True," said Oak while nodding his head again. "It does show here that many main hallways do go right in front of where the generators are located, so you'll have to use stealth to get there."

"How are we supposed to do that?" asked May.

Oak moved the blue prints ninety degrees over, to make it to were it was vertical.

"Well, if this is correct, then we could use these water pipes." He pointed at some small pipe shaped drawings on the prints. "These water pipes lead from one end of the building to the other. Now, if you five could get inside those pipes, they will lead you right over this hallway — " He pointed to a hallway shaped drawing that was right below the pipes. "— which lead right to the room with the generators."

Oak pulled his hands away from the prints so that everyone could see what he was seeing.

Brock pondered what the professor was thinking. He understood everything and even agreed with the plan, but there was something that was left unanswered.

"But, Prof. Oak, how are we going to get into these pipes?" asked Brock.

"Good question, Brock. Now, if you look closer at the front of the pipe, you will see that it leads outside of the building, but it only opens when that 'claw' that you spoke of comes out," said the professor.

"So, you mean that we have to make a distraction to get the claw out so we can get in?" asked Ash, still on the table and looking over the blue prints.

"Yes, Ash," said the professor. "You see, it says here that when the claw is inside the building the outside water must be drained out. I'm guessing that they do that so that it wont rust up. Now, when it's drained out, all that's left over is air, but when this claw has to go back out into the water, the container it was in still has only air, and that's when these pipes come in."

Brock pondered it a little bit, then nodded in understanding.

"I get it now! Because there is air, but then suddenly water, the pipes allow water in so that it wont collapse," he said.

Ash started scratching his head.

"But I still don't get it," said Ash, confused.

"Think of it this way," said the professor. "When you drink a can of soda, there is only one hole for the soda to get out, and when you drink it, the soda is choppy and takes a while just to come out. Now, if you poke another hole in the soda can, the soda doesn't come out so choppy, instead it comes out smoothly and more at once."

The professor put his finger on the blue prints and moved it in a circle, indicating the whole building.

"Now, imagine that the soda is air and the water is the air coming into the can, which is the building. Something has to take the other's spot when it moves, otherwise space would fill it instead," finished Oak.

Ash pondered it while still scratching his head. However, soon he finally understood it and nodded his own head.

"But, Prof. Oak," said Ash. "What kind of distraction should we use? We can't send in Squirtle again and none of us can out-swim that machine."

"I could do it," volunteered May.

Ash turned towards her, confused and yet amazed.

"No, May. You can't go, it's way too dangerous. You could get captured!" argued Ash.

"Ash, trust me, I'll be fine," said May.

But Ash couldn't let her, not after all he had been through already.

He didn't want her to get hurt. He didn't want her to be in the hands of Team Aqua, for he knows what they can do.

He didn't want someone else that he cared so dearly for get killed or wish for death . . . just because of him.

He remembered Misty, joining Team Aqua so that Ash wouldn't get hurt.

He remembered Misty II, the Pikachu that loved him and gave him a son, but gave up her own life to save his.

Ash was starting to cry, but tried his best to hold it in. He didn't want everyone else see him sobbing just for disagreeing with May.

But May could see it. Ash might have been able to fight the urge to cry, but May could see the sadness and pain that overcame her friend.

She reached out to him and laid her hand on his head, and started petting him again.

Ash liked the feeling of such a warm hand on his yellow fur. It relaxed him and somehow cheered him up.

Then, May brought over her other hand and used both of them to pick Ash up, and then she hugged him.

Ash felt the embrace and longed for it, so he returned it gratefully.

The professor cleared his throat loudly to get their attention. Ash and May froze when they realized what they were doing and quickly let go of each other with embarrassed faces.

But, after Ash quickly let go of May, he remembered that he was much smaller now and fell down to the hard floor.

"Ow . . ." mumbled Ash when he landed.

"Well, before I interrupt something important, I would like to continue with —" started the professor, but was interrupted by May.

"Um, professor? Do you think that you could give me and Ash some time alone? I want to ask him something personal," said May.

The professor seamed confused, out of all people that need Team Aqua gone and yet she wants to waist time talking to Ash? But, none the less, he waved everyone out of the room as he walked out himself.

Brock quickly followed the professor, but Max gave a small playful star at his sister, as if saying that he knows her secret.

May just shooed him out and pushed him out of the room and closed the door.

Ash was back on his feet now and was looking at May with a confused look again.

"What is it that you want to ask me, May?" he asked.

May bit her lip. How was she going to ask him? Just blurt it out and say it? She took a deep breath and got ready.

"Why are you so worried, Ash?" she asked.

"Why? What do you mean 'why'? Anyone would be worried that you are doing something this dangerous. It's only natural for me."

"Come on, Ash. I know that there is something else behind it. Why are you truly worried about me?"

Ash looked away for a second. All of his memories were coming back now.

Misty II laying in bed, talking to Ash as if they were her last words. They probably were.

That seemed like it was years ago, but it was only a couple of days in the past.

Either way, she might be dead right now.

All . . . because . . . of him.

Ash fell down to his small knees and began to cry. He didn't care if May was watching, and he probably wouldn't have cared if anyone else was watching either, he just had to get this pain of his out somehow.

He stayed there, crying his heart out for a long time. Then, May walked over to him and picked him up.

And there, they embraced. It wasn't the same hug as last time when everyone else was around them, but this was a hug to help each other through. A hug that told Ash that May truly cared about him and wanted to help.

During the hug, Ash cried on May's shoulder, just simply letting it all out.

* * *

"So you are telling me that they're not here?" asked Bob.

Misty nodded her head. She might be lying right now, but at least she was able to buy some time for Ash.

Bob looked right into Misty's eyes, as if trying to see into her mind if she was telling the truth. Misty tried to be as still and as unfocused about the matter as possible, otherwise it could mess everything up.

"Hm . . ." said Bob, pondering. "What do you think, Ray?"

Ray, leaning on a near by counter, stood up. The three of them where back in the lab. Computers and lab tables where everywhere, but all of the scientists and fellow Team Aqua members were busy doing other business.

"If you ask me," started Ray with a smirk. "I think that little punk, who you call 'Ash', is the one who alerted our defense system and activated one of our claws."

Bob turned around and faced Ray.

"You think so? Why?"

Ray shrugged and leaned back on the counter where many computers were lined up next to each other.

"Lets just call it a hunch for right now, but I'll tell you that this I know is true: When one of the claws had captured one of the intruders, the radar showed an object with a huge level of Inner Strength energy, and the last person that we checked with that much energy has to be that punk Pikachu," said Ray.

"And since when did you learn how to read the radar?" asked Bob.

Ray didn't say anything, instead he looked around, trying to act as if he hadn't heard the question.

Bob sighed at knowing that Ray was completely guessing at the fact. He turned back to face Misty.

"Well, this is hard to decide, isn't it?" he asked. "Ray here can read a radar just as good as he can do math."

Ray tensed up and growled, but stayed where he was at. He wouldn't dare go up against someone like Bob.

"Then, there's you," continued Bob, motioning to Misty. "You used to be friends with Experiment 102, so for all I know, you could be just helping him."

Misty wanted to object, but no ideas of what to say next would come to her mind, so she stayed quiet.

Bob walked over to Misty's side.

"You know what I think?" he asked.

Misty shook her head.

"I think that you did see 102. I think that you really did see him, but then reconsidered turning in your own best friend," said Bob.

Misty swallowed, but tried her best to look as calm as possible.

"I think that you still have feelings for 102 —"

"His name is Ash," said Misty, sternly.

Bob and Ray gave her a look, which made Misty realize her mistake. She turned her head so that her face wouldn't give anything else away.

"Which proves my point," continued Bob. "Now, I think that you still care for 102, as a true friend should. I think that you want him to be safe and tried to break the rules just to satisfy yourself, after all that is the reason why you joined in the first place. Am I correct?"

Misty said nothing, but kept her face pointed away from Bob's and Ray's eyes.

Bob took her silence as a yes.

"If what I say is true, then that means that you're in violation with our agreement. You know what that means."

Misty turned her head back to face Bob. His face was clear, emotionless, unreadable, almost as if he couldn't care for a thing in the world.

"You mean?" said Misty.

Ray smiled. Bob nodded.

Bob turned around and walked over to a computer. There, he placed his hands on the keyboard and began typing.

Misty could see the instructions that he was giving the computer, and she could not let him do such a thing.

She ran over to him, while pulling out one of her Poke Balls from her pocket, and slammed a fist right into the side of Bob's jaw. The scientist staggered a bit, then stood up straight and gave Misty another emotionless look.

"Do you honestly want to battle me?" asked Bob, seeing Misty's Poke Ball in her hand.

"It doesn't matter now, does it? I'm no longer a pawn in your evil game!" said Misty.

Bob seemed to have cracked a hint of a smile at the edge of his lips, but soon disappeared with force.

"I suppose that I'll take that as a 'yes' then," continued Bob.

Ray walked over to Bob and stood by his side while taking out one of his own Poke Balls. His new metal arm made a small grinding noise as he moved it to his belt.

"Are you sure that you want to go against both of us?" asked Ray with a evil smile.

As he answer, Misty put her other empty hand into her pocket and pulled out a second Poke Ball and enlarged it.

When her Poke Ball had enlarged, Bob shook his head in disappointment.

"You haven't really thought this out, have you?" said Bob.

Misty was confused at what he meant, but tried not to show it in her face.

"Look around you," said Bob while moving his arms in a manner to show everything in the room. "This room is filled with computers that control everything in this building. If one of your Pokemon's attacks misses me or Ray, then you could possibly destroy some of the equipment here and who knows what could happen. You just might hit a computer that controls the heating system, possibly making turning to heat to unbearable temperatures and killing everyone here. In other words, if you try to attack me, you could end up in killing yourself in the process."

"I don't care," said Misty. "Just as long as it ends up in getting rid of you and getting Ash and everyone else in this world safer."

Bob shook his head again.

"I honestly thought that you were smarter then that, Misty. Maybe Experim—"

"His name is Ash!" shouted Misty.

"Experiment 102," said Bob, ignoring her. "And his friends have clouded up your mind so much that you can't think anymore. You worry too much about him that you can't even think for yourself. You fear someone getting hurt, but not about your own safety. You have gotten weak, and of no further use."

"Shut up!" shouted Misty and threw out her Poke Balls.

Both balls fell against the hard ground. Each opened up, releasing a bright, white light, which formed into a Marill and a Staryu. Both Pokemon stood up and got into their stance, ready to begin.

But, Bob didn't bring out his own Pokemon. Instead, he just shook his head in disgrace.

"Oh, Misty. You might be willing to risk your own life, but would you risk your own Pokemon's lives as well?" asked Bob.

At hearing that, the two water Pokemon turned to their trainer and awaited her response.

Misty stood still. She couldn't think of any way out. She couldn't let her own Pokemon get hurt just because of her, but what else could she do?

Run away? If she did that, then Bob would have the chance to hurt Ash.

Stop him? How? She didn't know how these computers work and she couldn't even use her own Pokemon in this room.

"Then lets move," suggested Misty. "Lets go to a bigger room and battle there."

"Why should I move?" asked Bob. "As far as I'm concerned, you can't touch me here. Why should I even spare you a chance?"

"Because if you don't, then that shows the fear you have," spat Misty.

Bob stayed quiet. Misty couldn't tell whether she had won this argument by insulting him, for his face was still emotionless, but she could tell by the quietness that she was getting somewhere.

Then, Bob took a step closer to Misty.

"No."

Misty was shocked. She was about to call out an order to her two Pokemon, but stopped herself from realizing where she was at.

"Ray? Would you like to do the honors?" asked Bob.

Ray smiled evilly and walked over to Misty. Misty wanted to fight back, but Ray quickly snatched her neck with his new metal arm and lifted her up off of the floor.

She dropped her Poke Balls that were still in her hand onto the floor. Ray bent down, still holding Misty's neck, and picked up the Poke Balls. He then recalled both of Misty's Pokemon and placed the two balls onto his belt.

"Put her in The Room with the other prisoner while I send a little message," said Bob and walked back over to the computer he was originally at.

Ray carried Misty out of the room and out of sight from Bob.

Bob's fingers flew across the keyboard, typing instructions of what to do. All he wanted to do was to tell a certain "friend" what was about to happen.

"Lets see what true potential your Inner Strength has," said Bob to himself.

And he smiled. That was probably the first smile he has had this year.

* * *

Ash kept crying until he couldn't cry anymore. May's shoulder was all wet because of his tears and made her shirt stick to her skin.

While Ash cried, May kept patting and stroking his back, trying to give as much comfort as she could.

Ash was grateful for her warm hand and a shoulder to cry on. It made him feel safe and understood. If his body would've let him, he would have cried all day on her shoulder, just to feel all of his tears drown out is weight and feel May's warm hand against his yellow fur.

But, he had to stop eventually. So, Ash tried to regain control and attempted to stop crying.

"All better?" asked May when Ash was done.

"Yeah . . . I think so."

Ash leaned back and May slightly extended her arms so that they could see each other.

"How do you feel?" asked May.

"I feels . . . good. It feels good to finally get all of that out of me," replied Ash.

"All of what?"

Ash looked away from May's eyes.

"Everyone's pain . . . it's all my fault. If it wasn't for me, then none of this would've ever have happened."

"That's not true, Ash," comforted May. "You never hurt anyone, you even tried to protect anyone that you knew was about to get hurt. How can you say that it's your fault?"

Then, May remembered Misty II. She was dying right now. Could Ash be blaming himself for her condition?

May put Ash back down to the ground and let him stand.

"Are you still worried about Misty II?" she asked.

Ash looked up at May, then nodded.

"But not only her, I'm worried about you and the other Misty. Misty is over there on Team Aqua's side because she wanted to protect me, Misty II is now probably dead because she used her own life to save me, and you are now a Team Magma member that has been ordered to go on a suicidal mission," said Ash.

Ash took a step closer to May.

"Don't you see? I've hurt so many people, and now you want to go inside the worst possible place alone! I just can't let you do that, May. I don't want another person to get hurt just because they want to protect me!" said Ash, almost shouting it out.

May was shocked. She had no idea what Ash was going through, and she never even suspected this.

Now she looked at him a different way, not seeing the Pikachu, not even seeing the trainer, but now seeing the true person inside of Ash. The person that loves everyone equally and cares for each of them dearly.

She wanted to hug him again, to give just some more comfort to the worrisome Pikachu, but Ash turned away.

Ash was about to say something, but suddenly pain shot through his head. He placed both of his paws on his head to somehow stop the pain, but it kept coming.

More and more kept shooting up his skull and almost like into his brain. Ash could only scream and groan to try to reduce the pain as much as he could.

May ran over to the front of Ash to see what was wrong, and as she looked and listened to Ash scream in pain, his microchip seemed to be melting away the covering Prof. Oak gave to Ash. The microchip must be the reason why Ash was having so much pain, but why and how was it doing that?

Then, when the microchip was completely visible, a hologram appeared out of it. In the hologram, as Ash saw, was Bob in the same room that he was in when Ash was with him.

"Hello," said the hologram of Bob.

Ash clenched his teeth as he tried his best to ignore the pain that was coursing through his head.

"What are you doing to me?" asked Ash.

"I'm just trying to get your attention," replied Bob.

"You . . . have it," said Ash, gritting his teeth.

"Good."

Suddenly, the pain stopped, and Ash was able to talk freely and think freely again.

He looked up at the hologram. It was defiantly coming out of the microchip on his head, Ash's could even see the small beams of light that made the projection.

"Now, down to business," said Bob. "We know that you're here, but we don't know what exactly you're trying to do."

Bob started typing on a keyboard that Ash could not see because of the position of where Bob was in the hologram, and continued talking.

"So, we would like for you to come back over here . . . Ash," said Bob, seeming like he wasn't used to saying the name.

"Never!" shouted Ash. "Why would I ever come over there willingly with you knowing?"

"'With us knowing'?" asked Bob, stopping his typing for a bit. "Does that mean that you were going to come?"

Ash closed his mouth. He never liked lying, so it just kind of came out as he said it.

May stepped over to Ash's side.

"Yeah, we were coming! We were about to go and get rid of you forever!" shouted May triumphantly.

"Well, then you might as well come then," replied Bob.

"Why?" asked Ash.

"Because if you don't, your friends will never forgive you," said bob while pressing another key.

An image came up and covered Bob's face. It showed The Room, the same room that Ash was stuck in when he was over there.

However, this time, The Room had more people in it. Two to be exact.

One was a girl, wearing the Team Aqua uniform, had orange hair, and looked very worried and scared. It was Misty.

Ash was indeed shocked at seeing Misty trapped in there, but it was the other that made him gasp.

Chained to the wall with chains that weren't there last time, with long tubes going in and out of her . . .

Was Misty II.

**Ha! Bet you didn't see that one coming! **

**Well, sorry that this took so long. School's starting and this is my first time starting high school. Yep, I'm a freshman! **

**Also, I've been wanted to put in more action, because lately there has only been these fillers or whatever they're called. I promise that the next or the one after the next will have a whole lot more action.**

**Thank you everyone for reading this story and helping me out so much! I cannot thank you all enough!**


	15. Chapter 15

Inner Strength part 15

Ash stared at what the hologram showed before him.

Was it truly?

Could she actually be . . . alive?

"Misty?" called Ash.

Neither of the girls responded.

"Misty? Misty!" called out Ash, trying desperately to get both of the girls attention.

Again, neither of them said a word. They wouldn't even look up to Ash.

"Misty!" called Ash, trying again. "Misty II! Misty! MISTY!"

"They can't hear you," came back Bob's voice.

The picture with the two Misty's rolled away and Bob's face now covered the screen.

Ash took a step closer to the hologram, wanting to punch Bob for what he has done.

"What have you done to them?!" shouted Ash.

"Nothing," replied Bob. "I just put them in a place where I can keep an eye on them, but that can change if you don't corporate."

Ash gritted his teeth together in anger. But then, he remembered something.

"Wait, I thought that Misty was a member of Team Aqua. Why did you lock her up?" asked Ash.

"She broke the rules and went against her contract, so I just put her in her place. The place where all women should stay: Out of the way," said Bob.

"Shut up! That's not true!" shouted Ash.

Ash ran up and punched the hologram in his anger, but his yellow fist just went straight through it. The screen went blurry for a little bit as his hand disrupted it.

May stood there, watching and listening to what was happening. She wanted to help, maybe to comfort Ash, but couldn't think of anything to do. She felt like a little doll right now, not moving and just laying there with nothing to do except watch.

Ash pulled his fist back. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to punch the real Bob here. He just had to be patient and wait for the right time.

As soon as the hologram became clear again, Bob's face reappeared and spoke.

"Are you done? May I continue?" he asked.

Ash slowly nodded his head.

"As I was saying," continued Bob. "Your friend, Misty, broke the rules, so now she has to pay. However, if you come, I will let her go."

"What about Misty II?" asked Ash.

Bob paused, confused in a way.

"Who?" asked Bob.

"The girl Pikachu. Let her go too," demanded Ash.

"Why?" asked Bob. "I thought you cared about your friend, Misty."

"I care about all of my friends," said Ash. "I want them both to go free if I come there."

Bob pondered about it. Should he let the female Pokémon go too? It seemed like too much to give . . . but then, maybe it is.

"Alright, I'll let them both go, but," said Bob. "You have a time limit."

"How much time?" asked May from behind Ash.

"Until nightfall. You have until then to get ready, 102," said Bob.

And with that, the hologram turned off and disappeared.

Ash and May stood there in silence, pondering what had just happened.

What had just happened? Misty was backstabbed by Team Aqua, Ash had till nightfall to save her and stop Team Aqua . . . And somehow Misty II was still alive.

Ash wasn't sure whether to be happy, sad, angry, mad, worried, or even hopeful.

Ash turned around and faced May.

"We have to go tell the others," said Ash.

May nodded her head and turned towards the door. She opened it up for Ash and walked out beside him.

When the others saw them come out, they asked about what happened and what was going on. They said that they heard shouts and loud noises coming from inside their room.

Then, they noticed that Ash's microchip was showing again, and really wanted to know what they did in that room.

May explained to them what happened and what Bob told the two of them. When she told about the part when they found out that Misty and Misty II were held prisoners, Brock, Max, and Pikachu gasped in shock.

"Misty II is alive?" asked Max.

"Misty was captured by her own team?" said Brock.

"Pika pikachu pi pikachu?" asked Pikachu.

"What's going on? Who's Misty II?" asked the professor.

Ash turned and looked up at him.

"She's . . . Xander's mother," he said.

"You mean . . .?" said Oak.

Ash nodded and turned his head away.

All of the memories of him and Misty II started flooding into his mind.

The time he first saw her. Her beautiful eyes.

The time when she kissed him.

The times when she would refuse to leave him.

The time when she saved his life.

The time . . . when she . . . gave him his son.

Ash felt like he was going to cry. He tried his best to hold it in, but he was sure that his face still showed his expression. He turned away from everyone and walked to the door that led outside.

Oak closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Such a hard burden for such a young boy," said Oak.

"I wonder what it's like to have to be a mother or a father at such a young age," wondered May.

Oak opened his eyes and looked over at May.

"It's not easy. Some parents try to get their children into adoption so that they wouldn't have to worry about them. Others will even kill the child before it has the chance to be born . . . just because they think they're not ready," said the professor.

May gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

"That's terrible! Who would do such a thing?" she asked.

Oak closed his eyes again and tilted his head down.

"Many people have done just that. It's called an abortion, and it has killed many unknown lives, both with humans and Pokémon alike. Ash was one of the lucky ones," he said.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Brock.

Oak tilted his head even lower, recalling the sad story that he heard.

"When Ash was born, both his mother and his father were very young in age. They were surprised that Delia was pregnant with him, especially Ash's father, and talked about means of adoption and even abortion. Luckily, they didn't have the money for an abortion, so Ash's father suggested adoption, but Ash's mother wouldn't dare give up her child. She didn't want to kill Ash in the first place or let him go, despite her age and inexperience," explained Oak.

Oak opened back up his eyes and lifted his face.

"However, Ash's father just wouldn't accept the fact that he was going to become a father. He kept telling himself that he couldn't do it, that it was too much to bare, that he was too young. So, he continuously tried to convince Mrs.Ketchum to think of a way to get rid of Ash."

Oak smiled.

"You have to respect that woman. She had such love for her son, so much hope, so much want. She refused to let him go no matter what."

Oak's smile soon disappeared.

"So, because she wouldn't listen, Ash's father left both of them while taking his money with him, leaving Ash and his mother in debt."

Then, Oak went quiet, as if he was done.

The room stayed quiet. Everyone was waiting for the professor to continue, but he didn't say anything.

Eventually, May took a step forward.

"Then what happen?" she asked.

Oak turned towards her.

"Then . . . the two lived in debt and bankrupt for years. Mrs. Ketchum had to sell her house and move here because she couldn't afford the one she used to live in. Occasionally, they got their electricity and their water cut off because they couldn't pay for the bills. I heard about them, so I gave her some of my own money to get her back onto her feet. Some of my assistants even helped out the poor family. She took the money, but even with that, it still wasn't enough to get them out of debt.

"There were times when Ash's mother did get a job, but she was soon fired or she simply quit because it was too easy and didn't pay enough. Ash himself had to live through all of her troubles and worries along with going to school and such. Sometimes, the only thing that his mother could afford to eat was just a bowl of rice. But eventually, Ash's mother got a good job that payed decent, and along with my donations, she was finally able to get out of debt."

Oak sighed at the memory.

May pondered what she had just heard. Did all of this actually happen to Ash when he was just a child? May had the luxurious life with her rich parents, so she never thought that there were such things as bad parents. She was always taught that parents always care for their children and love them till death, but this one parent, Ash's father, did not sound anything like that.

Oak looked back at the door that Ash had exited from.

"And now, it seems that the same thing has came upon himself," said the professor.

Pikachu also turned around and stared at the door that Ash went out of.

"Pikapi," he said, and ran towards the door.

Brock watched as Pikachu ran to the door and opened it for him. Then, when Pikachu was outside, he closed it. After he closed the door, he faced the professor again.

"I still can't believe that after all this time, Ash has had all of these memories to haunt him. Why didn't he tell us this before?" asked Brock.

"I'm sure that he doesn't like to talk about it very much," said the professor. "And maybe he just wanted to keep his mind on becoming a good trainer."

"Maybe, but I wonder what his mom had to go . . ." said Brock, but stopped for some reason. "Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about her! She's still in the house with James!"

Then, Brock ran out through a different door and sprinted back over to Ash's house. May and Max stood there and stared, then just shrugged their shoulders.

* * *

Outside, Pikachu ran and caught up with Ash.

"Ash!" called Pikachu, in his own Pokémon tung.

Of course, Ash was able to understand Pikachu now since he was a Pokémon as well.

Ash turned around and faced Pikachu.

"What?" he asked.

Pikachu walked all the way up to Ash, trying to get as close as possible without getting into his personal space.

"Prof. Oak told us about your father and when you were born," said Pikachu.

Ash looked up into Pikachu's eyes, surprised.

"He told you?" asked Ash.

Pikachu nodded his head.

"Is that why you're so determined to help Xan? Is that why you want to save Misty II so much?" asked Pikachu.

Ash looked away from Pikachu's eyes and turned his head. He didn't want to show the emotion that he knew he had on his face.

"I wanted to take care of Xan . . . because . . . he reminds me of myself," said Ash. "He's had an way too young dad who has no idea what to do. I have no idea what to do, Pikachu, but I'm not willing to give up on him . . . Never on Xander. I don't want my own son to have the same life I did, even if he's not human.

"And the reason why I want to save Misty II so much is because . . . she's the mother of Xander. My own mom is very close to me, and I can't imagine what it would be like not to have one."

Ash looked up at the blue sky. All of the memories that he and his mother had together came into his head. All of the smiles, the laughs, the pain, the excitement, the worry . . . all with his mother.

"When I heard what Nurse Joy said, I was starting to think that she was dead, that she had no chance," said Ash. "But now I know that we both have a chance at this! I may not love her the way she wished I did, but I do love her the same way a dad loves a mom with a child."

"Is that true?" asked Pikachu.

Ash looked over at his friend, not moving his head, and nodded his head.

Pikachu smiled back.

"Then lets get started!" said Pikachu and walked past Ash.

Ash pulled his head back down and turned around towards Pikachu.

"Get started with what?" asked Ash. "What are we doing?"

"Training," said Pikachu. "If you want to save Misty II, then you have to know how to battle a little better. I'll teach you everything you taught me."

* * *

Brock slammed open the door.

"Mrs. Ketchum, where are you?!" shouted Brock.

"Over here!" said a cheery voice.

Brock followed where the voice came from and saw Ash's mother sitting down on the couch across from the still tied up James.

Brock gave a sigh of relief when he saw that James didn't get out.

"Good. You're safe," he said.

"Of course I am," said Delia with a smile. "I've just been talking with this fine gentleman here while you all went over to Oak's."

James looked up from his ropes and at Brock.

"Back so soon?" asked James to Brock.

Brock ignored him and turned his attention back to Ash's mother.

"Are you sure you're okay? What were you talking about with James anyway?" asked Brock.

"Oh, just stuff. We talked about our families and our past lives and such," said Mrs. Ketchum. "He seems to have a very strict family to make him marry such an awful woman."

James shuddered.

"She is . . ." he said and looked away.

Ash's mom just smiled again at James and patted him on the back.

"Oh, don't worry. If you truly don't love her, then there is no reason for you to marry. Remember: It's not your parents choice, it's yours and yours alone," she said.

James looked back up at her. Never in his life has anyone shown so much kindness . . . towards him. The only kind thing Jessie would do is not slap him and Meowth just likes to back talk him all of the time. The kindness from this woman is . . . unusual for him.

"Th-thank you," he said.

Mrs. Ketchum smiled once more down at James.

"You're welcome."

Brock inched forward and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. James and Ash's mom turned their heads towards Brock to give their attention.

"Um, Mrs. Ketchum, you do know that this is a criminal you're speaking to, right?" asked Brock.

"He might be a criminal, but that doesn't mean that he's truly bad. He could change any moment if he wants to," she said.

"That's the thing . . . 'if'," said Brock. "Well, I just came over to see if you were okay, and after seeing this, I guess you are."

Mrs. Ketchum nodded her head with another smile. Then, she looked down at her watch on her wrist.

"Oh my! I better start getting lunch ready! Brock, James, would you like something to eat?" she asked.

Brock thanked her politely, but denied. James, however, lit his eyes up and nodded his head excitedly at hearing the chance to finally eat.

* * *

"Concentrate completely on your tail, Ash," said Pikachu. "Imagine all of your energy flowing into the very end of your tail."

Ash nodded and tried again. His tail slowly started glowing brighter and brighter until it was white hot with light. After that, Ash did exactly what Pikachu told him: concentrated completely on his tail and imagined all of with energy going to the end of it.

Suddenly, Ash's tail seemed to grow and widen slightly while still glowing. Then, Ash turned and looked ahead of himself at a nearby rock. While still concentrating on his tail, he dashed towards the rock.

He swung his tail around at the rock with all of his might, trying his best to keep his concentration.

The glowing tail whipped around and sliced completely through the rock, leaving a clean cut right through the middle. The now top half of the rock was pushed over to the side and slid off the bottom half like two sticks of butter.

Ash did a small victory leap in the air as Pikachu smiled and clapped from behind.

"Good job, Ash! I think you got that move down pretty well . . . for a human," joked Pikachu.

Ash smiled and laughed.

"Thanks, Pikachu. These moves are feeling a whole lot more natural now," said Ash.

"As they should," smiled Pikachu. "I guess I'm training you pretty well, huh?"

Ash smiled.

"For a Pokémon." The two friends laughed.

After Ash calmed down from the laughing, he wanted to ask Pikachu something.

"Out of all of the moves I want to know, I've really been looking forward to learning Thundershock. When are you going to teach me that one?" asked Ash.

Pikachu looked confused.

"You mean . . . you don't know how to do it yet?" he asked.

Ash shook his head. He hasn't used that move this whole time, so he thought that it was obvious that he couldn't do it.

Pikachu started pondering on what to say next.

"Well, you are a human, so maybe it doesn't come as naturally as it does with us," he said, still pondering. "Now, how to explain it."

"You mean you don't know how to do it?" asked Ash. "But I've seen you do it thousands of times before."

"I know how to do it, but I don't know how to explain it. I mean, for us Pikachus, being able to use electricity sorta comes instinctively. I can do it right now without even thinking, but if I wanted to do a powerful one . . ."

Pikachu placed a finger in the air, as if a lightbulb was hanging in the air above his head.

"Maybe that's how I could teach it to you."

"How?" asked Ash.

"Well, if I can't tell you how to do a simple Thundershock, but it takes me extra concentration and energy to do a more powerful one, then maybe if I teach you how to do a powerful one it would be the same as doing a simple one. . . Hopefully."

Ash scratched his head. "Huh?"

Pikachu sighed.

"Just do everything I tell you and you might be able to learn the move," said Pikachu.

"'Might'? I don't like the sound of that," said Ash.

Pikachu looked into Ash's eyes carefully, with seriousness and sincerity.

"Do you really want to save both Mistys and stop Team Aqua?" he asked.

The question caught Ash off guard. Of course he wanted to save them, of course he wanted to stop those evil people, but they way Pikachu asked that question to him. . .

"Yes," said Ash.

"Are you willing to give anything to save the two girls?" asked Pikachu again.

"Yes."

"You will get tired and probably hurt very badly. Do you still want to stop Team Aqua?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to sacrifice your own life for your two friends over there?"

Ash looked up into his friend's eyes. He never really thought that far. No one really thinks as far as death itself.

But . . . it did make sense, for they were going straight into the belly of the beast, the HQ of evil, their enemy's stronghold. They just might die trying to get back out.

_But, _thought Ash. _They both used their lifes to save mine._ _That's the only way to repay them. Both of them._

Pikachu nodded, hearing Ash's thoughts.

"Then you have to have hope through everything. I have had these thoughts on some of our adventures, Ash. There were times when we both could've died, many times in fact, but we kept on going and we're still here," said Pikachu. "Come on, be that old trainer that trained me. Be that trainer that I know you are and never give up."

Ash thought about it. Him and Pikachu have been through a lot of things, either risking the safety of the world or risking their very lives.

If they had been through all of those things, all of those disasters, all of those hardships, and they are still here to tell the tell, then surely they can do this!

Ash smiled and nodded his head. Pikachu smiled back and nodded his own head.

"Good, then lets try it out!" said Pikachu. "Now try to concentrate on all of your energy. Imagine a small orb of raw electricity in your mind."

Ash closed his eyes and cleared his mind. All of his thoughts, all of his worries, everything was drowned out. Only until his mind was just a white emptiness was when he tried to imagine a orb of electricity floating in space. Just by doing that, he could feel small amounts of static crawling around his body.

"Now, tense up all of your muscles. Get them as tensed up as much as you can."

Ash tensed up. His arms, legs, and chest expanded slightly as he tensed his muscles as much as his body would let him.

When Pikachu saw the muscles move, he continued.

"Try to tense up your cheeks now, Ash."

Ash wasn't really sure on how he could do that, but he tried none the less. While still tensing his other muscles, Ash tried to tense his cheeks. At first, he squeezed them together, but ended up making a weird grin on his face.

"No, Ash! Tense your cheeks, not your lips," said Pikachu when he saw Ash make the face.

Ash stopped what he was doing to his face and tried again, but a different way this time.

This time, Ash tried sucking in his cheeks, but ended up looking like a fish. Pikachu pointed this out as well and told him to correct it.

After a little bit, Ash let go of his muscles, it was getting tiring keeping everything so tensed. After a small rest, Ash tensed up his muscles again. He tried to get his cheeks tensed, this time bitting them inside of his mouth, but it didn't work either.

"Ash, you have to learn how to do this! Physical attacks might work most of the time, but you never know when you might have to battle a Pokémon that's immune to those attacks or if you have to do a projectile attack," explained Pikachu at seeing Ash trying again to tense his cheeks. "Try again, Ash. This time, let go of your other muscles and concentrate on your cheeks."

Ash did so. He let go of his muscles, gratefully, and tried to tense his cheeks again.

Ash tried and tried and tried to get his cheeks tensed. It seemed that he could do everything else besides that one vital part. He got aggravated at times and wanted to give up, but then he remembered Misty and Misty II. So, he would turn right back around and try again.

Pikachu tried to give him tips, but this was something hard for even him to describe. It was another thing that just came so naturally to Pikachus that it was hard for them to explain it.

"Just keep trying, Ash," encouraged Pikachu. "Try everything you can on your cheeks. Experiment or something."

Ash tried again and again, doing everything the he thought was possible, but Pikachu kept telling him over and over again that it was wrong.

Eventually, Ash did something! He wasn't sure what he did or how he did it, but Pikachu's face lit up and he smiled excitedly.

"There! You did it!" he said. "Try to do it again."

Ash did whatever it was he did before and Pikachu's face lit up once more. Apparently, he had finally learned how to tense up his cheeks.

"Okay, now you finally know how to do that, lets put it all together. Imagine the orb while tensing your muscles including your cheeks," instructed Pikachu.

Ash did so. He cleared his mind, thought of the orb of electricity, tensed all of the muscles on his body, then tensed up his cheeks the way that he had just learned.

"Now, pour out that raw electricity in your mind and tense up your cheeks even more! Now, Ash!" commanded Pikachu.

The mental image in Ash's head shot out electricity everywhere in the white emptiness. Ash tensed up his muscles even more (including his cheeks) and tried to squeeze out his electricity.

Ash expected something to happen; Pikachu expected yellow electricity exploding out of his friend's body, but neither happened. Ash closed his eyes and tried again.

"Come on, Ash! Push it!" said Pikachu.

Ash tensed up all of his muscles, then his cheeks, all while imaging the orb of electricity exploding, but once again, it didn't work.

He tried and tried and tried and tried again, but no matter what he did, no electricity erupted from his Pikachu body.

They continued trying, they continued attempting, over and over and over again. They never gave up, just like they never gave up before, but it seemed that it was impossible.

After trying for over an hour, Pikachu eventually told Ash to stop and rest. Ash didn't want to give up for he knew that he needed to know this move, but also knew that it was pointless and obeyed Pikachu.

They sat down on the grass and rested. Pikachu sat next to Ash, who soon fell down to his back in exhaustion.

"I wasn't able to do anything, and yet I'm dead tired," said Ash while laying down.

Pikachu looked down over his best friend.

"I still don't understand why you can't do the most simplest move that us, Pikachus, can do. You can do all of the over ones. You were even able to learn Iron Tail much faster than I did, and yet you can't do a simple electric attack," said Pikachu.

Ash rolled over to his side.

"Could it be because I'm a human, or was one?" asked Ash.

Pikachu shrugged and fell down to his own back.

"I honestly don't know. It might be that reason, it might not be. You know how to do everything to make a Thundershock, but it just wont happen for some reason."

Ash looked down at the ground. He knew that he needed desperately to know how to do this move, otherwise it might be twice as difficult than it already would be.

Team Aqua is all about water, and they would mostly want water type Pokémon or Pokémon that can survive in the water. Electricity would help everyone tremendously.

Sure, Pikachu could do it, but what if something happens to him? What if he gets too tired to do another Thundershock? What if he gets hurt?

Ash turned around and faced Pikachu, who was still laying on his back.

No, Pikachu wouldn't get hurt, he wouldn't let anyone hurt his best friend. Ash would never let anyone hurt any of his friends, not with him around.

Ash turned back on his back and looked up at the sky. The sun was at the very top of the sky, towering above the clouds and the floating sea of blue.

"Alright," said Pikachu and got back up. "Lets keep practicing. Since you can't do that move, lets try a different one."

Ash got back up to his feet.

"Which one?" he asked.

"Speed," said Pikachu. "Or agility."

Pikachu walked ahead of Ash. He stopped and stuck his toe into the ground, then dragged his toe across the ground. When he was done and lifted up his toe, there was a straight line.

"Lets race," said Pikachu with a grin.

* * *

Xander opened his eyes. He stretched his small, yellow arms and legs out while letting out a big yawn.

Then, he sat up and looked around himself. No one was around him, not even Daddy or that nice lady. But, he could hear some people talking in the other room.

Xander crawled out of bed and followed the sounds that he had heard. He walked out of the room, into a small hallway, then into a much larger room. There, he could see where the noise was coming from.

"How are you liking that rice cake, Mr. James?" said the nice lady from before.

"Mit's wondermul!" said a man that had food stuffed in his mouth.

Xander looked curiously at this man. He had a white shirt on with a large red marking on it along with white pants and black stuff over his hands and feet. Xander tried to remember what these objects were called, but he couldn't recall being taught about any of these items when that old man wanted to teach him.

Xander walked up to the man curiously and examined him more, as if he was an item from the store. Then, the man turned and looked down at him, and stared in shock.

"A Pichu?!" he said with surprise and swallowed his food. "Since when did the twer— I mean, Ash— get a Pichu?"

"Oh, um," started the lady. "He just got this little fella' a few days ago. His name is Xander, but we call him Xan for short."

The man turned his whole body to face Xander and looked as if he wanted to move his arms, but they were somehow stopped from doing so by some thick, brown material. The man, after remembering that he couldn't move his arms and legs, instead looked down at Xander.

"His eyes look so much like Ash's," said the man. "But with more of a . . . Pikachu touch."

The man looked a little more at Xander, but then turned back around and faced the nice lady.

"So, are you sure that you don't have any idea who Team Aqua are?" asked the man.

The lady shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't say I do. Who are they supposed to be?" asked the lady.

"Oh, just a small group of . . . um . . . kids," said the man.

"Have they done something wrong?"

"No, no. I just, eh, wanted to know if they were here, that's all," said the man, nervously.

The lady eyed him for a little bit, but then walked over to Xander.

"Well, good morning, sleepy head. Did you sleep okay?" she asked Xander.

Xander nodded his small, cute, yellow head. After he got over that bad dream, he slept very well.

The lady smiled brightly.

"Good. Are you hungry, Xan?"

Xander nodded his head. He was quite hungry this morning for some reason.

The lady smiled again and walked back into the place where they make food. She got a small bowl filled with Pokéfood and placed it in front of Xander.

Xander eyed the food, as if it was mud that he was forced to eat. He picked up a piece, then ate it. As soon as his tung touched the food, Xander wanted to spit it back out, but he didn't because he didn't want to make a mess. He forcefully swallowed the disgusting food and then pushed the bowl away.

"You don't like it?" asked the lady.

"Your Pichu doesn't like Pokémon food?" asked the man. "He has to be the first one I've ever heard that doesn't like it."

The lady paused for a moment. She seemed to be pondering on what to give Xander next, almost as if she wasn't sure what to give him.

Then, the lady walked over to the stove. There, right next to the stove itself, was a large plate of food. The lady got out a smaller plate and put some of the food onto the new plate. Then, she placed the small plate with food on it on the table and told Xander to sit down on a seat near the table. Xander did so and the lady pushed him closer to the table so he could eat.

When Xander saw the food, he "Cha"ed in wonder and quickly began eating. He scarfed down the food and slurped down his drink like he was starving and hadn't ate in days.

Mrs. Ketchum and James watched Xander gobble down everything in surprise.

"Does he usually eat like this?" asked James.

"I don't know, but he sure is eating like his father," said Delia.

**I don't know about you, but I think that this is one of my worst chapters so far.**

**Well. . . maybe I shouldn't say that because I've been saying that lately, but everyone else says that it's great. I don't know . . .**

**Anyway, Ash's story with his father is based off of my own personal story of my own father. If you want to hear the whole story, here's a link -> http://colb-a-nater. I've been having more and more homework at school and my writer's block ain't helping me either with my stories, so I'm sorry that this took so long to write.**

**And for those of you that think that I just quit writing the story: THINK AGAIN! When I start something, I will not give up unless I have to with a reason. So, no worries! **


	16. Chapter 16

Inner Strength part 16

After Xander was done eating, he wanted to walk outside and over to the old man's lab. The nice lady didn't mind him leaving, she just told him to be back before dinner when he left.

Xander wanted to go to the lab. He didn't really know why he wanted to go, just that his curious little mind told him to go there.

Maybe daddy was there. Maybe there were other nice ladies over there. Maybe there were more of those playful, creatures like the one that daddy is around with the most.

Maybe that old man was still there. Maybe he might teach Xander something else.

Whatever it was, Xander was definitely going to the lab.

* * *

Ash got down on all fours. He placed his two paws on top of the line Pikachu drew on the ground.

"Okay," started Pikachu. "We race over to that tree and back." He said while pointing at a nearby tree.

"Ready?" said Pikachu as he got down on fours next to Ash.

Ash leaned down just like Pikachu taught him. Probably the most hardest thing about running is trying to run on all fours, but if he does it right, then he can be incredibly fast.

"Set."

Pikachu was down almost level with the ground. His paws were also right up to the line, ready to pounce at any second.

"Go!"

Ash and Pikachu sprinted off at the same time, heading towards the tree.

Ash moved his arms ahead of him in a hand-walking manner while moving his back feet in his usual running manner.

As he ran, he looked over at Pikachu. He was going much faster than Ash was and was slowly getting ahead of him. How was he doing that? Ash thought he was pretty fast for himself . . .

Ash watched Pikachu run as he ran. Pikachu, unlike Ash, brought both of his front paws towards himself, then pushed off with his back feet, almost like he was doing a small "running pounce". Pikachu's paws and feet all moved at the same time: in and out, in and out, in and out . . .

The tree was getting closer now. Ash tried switching his running technic to match Pikachu's technic while still in mid sprint, but ended up almost tripping over himself in attempting it.

Ash quickly regained balance on his feet and continued running, this time like how Pikachu did it. However, since he tripped, that gave Pikachu a slight time advantage and sped him up a few feet ahead.

Pikachu made it to the tree first, but was closely followed by Ash, who was speeding up amazingly.

When Pikachu got to the tree, he slowed down, touched it, then quickly turned around and sprinted back towards the line.

When Ash finally made it to the tree, he wanted to get as much as a advantage as he could. So, instead of slowing down and touching the tree, he jumped up and planted his back two feet on the bark of the tree, then he jumped off of it and back to the ground. The combination of gravity and Newton's 3rd Law allowed Ash a great increase of speed.

However, when Ash jumped off of the tree, he shook it a little bit, making some leaves fall down.

Ash quickly caught up to Pikachu and got in neck-and-neck with him.

The finish line was coming closer now. Ash and Pikachu were still close together.

Then . . .

THUD!

A hard noise that usually came from something heavy falling onto the ground come to both Pikachu's and Ash's ears. Both Pikachu and Ash stopped half-way to the finish line and turned around to see what made the sound.

A blue and black creature with a yellow body, long legs and arms, spikes on the back of each paw, a black tail, and had a snout laid on the ground before them, rubbing its head from the pain of falling on it gave it.

A Lucario was laying on the ground before them, apparently having fallen out of the tree that Ash had just shook.

Ash was in complete shock.

"Lucario?!" he said.

The Lucario was still rubbing its head. When it heard Ash talk to him, it looked up.

"Lucario?" asked Pikachu. "I thought he was . . ."

Lucario looked at Pikachu, as if he was confused why he was there. Then the Lucario looked over at Ash. But, when he looked at Ash, he didn't just at him, Lucario looked straight into Ash's eyes, as if remembering something.

Ash stared back, also looking into this Lucario's eyes. He didn't seem to be the same Lucario he had met before, but . . . somehow . . . this one Lucario . . . seemed . . . familiar. Almost as if he was a long lost memory that had somehow returned to him.

Ash couldn't put his finger on it . . .but he knew for sure that this one Lucario had met him before.

"Hey," said Ash. "Have we —?"

Ash wasn't able to finish his sentence because the Lucario quickly got back up and dashed away, towards the woods.

"Hey!" shouted Ash. "Wait! Stop!"

Ash dashed after the running Lucario, wanting to know how and why he looked so darn familiar.

"Ash! Wait!" shouted Pikachu and quickly followed behind.

* * *

What is this thing?

Xander walked up to a fence on his way to the lab. He had never seen a fence before, but examined it just as much as he did with everything else.

It was brown, hard, connected into the ground, but had some spaces between it that were probably only big enough for Xander to go in and out of.

Xander ducked under the fence and walked inside of this unknown fenced area. He had never gone this way before . . . was this even the way to the lab?

Xander continued walking and looking. He could see some of those creatures like daddy and he was, but these were all different sizes and shapes and all looked different.

He walked up to a small cluster of young Pokémon who were all playing together. There were two brown, young, furry Pokémon with long, brown ears and a long tail. They were playing with each other (apparently they were siblings).

The little unknowing Pichu, having the want to have fun, completely blended in with the others and jumped on top of the two young Eevees that were now wrestling each other.

The Eevees laughed and played along with Xander, wrestling with him playfully while wrestling with any other joining children.

Xander laughed along with them and loved the attention he was getting. He continued to play along with the others, tackling, wrestling, laughing . . . He was simply happy that he was finally playing with others.

"Eev eevee!" said a more adult Eevee, probably the parent. "Vee eevee!"

The two Eevees stopped playing with Xander and ran over to the parent Eevee, leaving Xander behind and lonely.

Xander watched as the two Eevees walked away, then looked back at the other little Pokémon. They all too seemed to be called back by each of their parents, leaving Xander alone again.

Now, Xander blended out. All of the other young Pokémon were with some other adult parent except for him. This made Xander start thinking about this own parents.

Well, there was daddy, but he's not around very much.

Xander looked over at the Eevee's family. The two Eevees that he had just played with were there along with two adult Eevees.

Two?

One of the adults looked like a male, probably their own daddy. The other looked more like a female, though.

Who was that supposed to be? A daddy and a . . . girl daddy?

Xander watched as the Eevee family crowded around together, all happy and smiling. The girl daddy Eevee was with both of the younger Eevees, snuggling with them and licking them with her tung, cleaning them. Just watching this "girl daddy" showed Xander the affection she showed everyone. She hugged both Eevees in a very lovingly way, she nuzzled with each one on their noses with a bright smile on her face, even when she was cleaning the two Eevees, Xander could see the love that she was giving to each of them, even as the two children struggled and wiggled away from her.

Even the boy daddy . . . Xander watched as he moved next to the two young ones and played with them. He would let them get on top of him, as if he was losing, then he would get back up on his feet and make a fake angry face at them. But, this face wasn't really even trying to look angry, but more like a playful face.

The two Eevees would jumped back on the daddy Eevee and knock him down, not hard, but softly and the daddy let them get back on top of him and laughed out loud in the fun they were having.

Xander watched for a little longer . . . then looked around himself.

There was no one . . .no one . . .

The girl daddy showed a kind of love that Xander knew that he would never get from his daddy. But . . . if they have a girl daddy, then where is his?

And where is his daddy? The kind of playfulness and love that the Eevee daddy showed Xander made him rethink what a true daddy is. Why didn't his daddy do any of that? Why hasn't he seen his daddy very much for the past days?

Why doesn't he have a family like this?

Why?

Xander saw his vision start to blur. His eyes were getting very wet and his nose was suddenly stuffed. He was crying.

Xander just let everything out and cried. He didn't know how to hold it in and probably didn't want to, so he continued to cry.

"Bay?" said a voice from behind Xander.

Xander stopped crying for a second and turned around to see who made that sound.

"Bay, bayleef leef bayleef," said a Pokémon.

This Pokémon was green, taller than Xander, walked on all fours, had no fur at all on its body, looked like a female, and had a large leaf sticking out of her head and around the lower part of her neck.

The Bayleef walked up to Xander and tilted her head down to be eye level with the Pichu.

Xander looked up at her with eyes that still had tears in them.

"What's wrong?" asked the Bayleef in her own Pokémon tung. "What are you crying for?"

Bayleef brought out some of her vines and wrapped them around Xander and lifted him up. At first, Xander was scarred of being picked up so high, but his worries were soon gone as Bayleef started humming a lullaby to him.

"Hm hm hmmm," hummed Bayleef.

Bayleef used her vines to rock Xander slowly from one side to the other above her head, but never left her sight from him.

Xander started to feel a little better. It was something about this song . . . Something about the tone that calmed him down almost to the point were he was tired.

Bayleef smiled as she watched Xander's eyes get heavy and the little Pichu trying to fight off the sleep.

"You know, little guy," said Bayleef as she rocked Xander. "You look kind of familiar, like an old friend that I once knew."

Bayleef slowly stopped rocking Xander and brought him closer to her head. She looked at him for awhile, just enjoying herself at watching the little baby get tired. It was always cute seeing a baby Pichu try to fight off sleep.

But then, Xander tried to fight it off again and opened his eyes wide.

Bayleef saw his eyes. As soon as she saw them, she knew who this Pichu was.

"Ash?" asked Bayleef.

Xander felt the vines around him uncoil and let him go. He fell down to the ground, landing on his back on the grassy ground. Then, Bayleef jumped right on top of him, nearly crushing the little Pichu's body with her massive weight.

"Ash!" shouted Bayleef. "Oh, Ash, it's so good to finally see you again! It's been too long!"

Bayleef, still on top of Xander, rubbed her head against his in a very affectionate way.

"I don't know how you're like this or why you're like this, but you're here and that's what matters!" said Bayleef, still rubbing her head against Xander's. "I knew you would come back to see me, though. I just knew it! But, I never even thought that you would surprise me like this!"

Xander couldn't breathe. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the air to say anything.

"All those other guys kept saying that you wouldn't come back, but here you are! Did you see that Poké Witch again? Did she turn you into a Pichu this time? Oh, who cares? I'm just so happy that you're back with me!"

Xander was starting to get scared that this green creature was going to crush him. Her body kept leaning over his and it was hurting him. He had never felt pain before and didn't know what to do about it.

So, he started to cry.

Bayleef stopped what she was doing and lifted her head off of the little Pichu. He was crying? He sounded like . . . a baby?

But . . . Ash never cried, never like this. He used to hug her back and tell her to get off playfully. He would never just flat out cry like this.

Maybe this isn't Ash . . .

But, if it wasn't Ash, then who was he? He has the same eyes as Ash, Bayleef knew that. She could recognize those eyes anywhere.

Bayleef stood back up and got off of the little, crying Pichu.

Once Xander felt the weight finally get off of him, he stopped crying and opened his eyes. He looked up at Bayleef, confused at why she just got off of him.

Once again, Bayleef's vines came out and wrapped around Xander's body in a caring way. Xander wasn't scared this time, for he had a feeling that this creature was not going to hurt him.

Bayleef brought Xander close to her face with her vines.

"Ash?" she asked again.

Xander was confused. Why was she calling him that? He thought he was called "Xander" not "Ash".

Bayleef saw Xander's confused face. This was defiantly not her old trainer, but she still did not understand why or how this Pichu has the exact same eyes as Ash.

Either way . . . she knew that she's not going to see her trainer for a long time.

Bayleef sighed.

Now, Xander was confused at the sudden change in emotion Bayleef just had. She looked sad all of a sudden to him. Why was she sad?

Xander looked back over his shoulder and at the Eevee family. The small group was starting to walk away, but before one of the young Eevees went with them, he stayed behind. The girl daddy Eevee saw him and went back over to him.

There, the girl daddy rubbed her head against the little Eevee. The little one laughed and rubbed his own head back and smiled. Then, they walked off.

Xander turned around. Where was his girl daddy? Why didn't he have one?

Then, Xander looked up at Bayleef. She was still staring at him, pondering something. Could she be her?

Xander did recall her rubbing her head against his in a very lovingly way . . . kind of like that girl daddy Eevee.

Bayleef still wanted to know who this Pichu was that she now held, but he seemed too young to be able to talk correctly yet.

Then, while Bayleef was still holding onto the Pichu with her vines, the Pichu leaned over and hugged her vine.

Bayleef was shocked. This Pichu was just crying only a few seconds before, probably from being scared of her, so now why was he showing this love?

But, on the other paw . . . she liked it.

She brought the Pichu closer to her until he was next to her next, then Xander lifted his tiny arms and hugged her neck.

She didn't want him to let go . . . for his hug felt just like Ash's.

* * *

Ash dodged through brush and around trees as he ran. Already his legs were burning, but he wouldn't let himself stop. He just had to find out who this Lucario really was.

Why did he look so familiar?

Why was he hiding in that tree?

Why was he running away from Ash right now?

Ash wanted answers, but the Lucario was just too fast for him. Ash could barely see the Lucario through the thickness of the trees plus he was getting smaller and smaller as he ran father and father away from Ash.

There was no way he could outrun a Lucario, Ash knew that. He has to find a way to stop the Lucario in his tracks, but how?

Ash kept thinking while he was running that he didn't pay attention to where he was running. He just kept on running and running . . . then, before his senses turned back on, Ash knowingly ran straight into a tree. The impact of his speed against the wood shook his head. His vision saw three of everything and he couldn't think straight at all anymore. Soon, he fell down to the ground and blacked out . . .

When Ash woke back up, he was laying on his back, still in the same forest that he was chasing the Lucario in. Pikachu was with him somehow, but he was moving around frantically and shocking things out of Ash's view.

Pikachu looked over his shoulder and saw that Ash was finally awake.

"Pikapi! Pika pikachu chu!" shouted Pikachu.

What was wrong? Ash lazily turned his head on the ground . . . then, had to quickly move it out of the way as a giant, gray fist slammed down towards it.

Ash quickly rolled over to his side and got up to his feet. There, all around him and Pikachu, were men in red uniforms along with their own Pokémon.

Team Magma.

_Pikachu_, thought Ash, remembering that he could talk through his mind. _What is Team Magma doing here?!_

_You tell me_, responded Pikachu. _I followed you until you knocked yourself out, then the next thing I knew is that these guys appear out of nowhere and try to take you. I've been fighting them off this whole time!_

This isn't good. There were about ten men around them, each accompanied by their own Pokémon. There was a Magmar, an Absol, a Machamp, a Golem, a Graveler, a Scizor, a Growlithe, a Dustox, a Lairon, and a Dusclops. They were all in a wide circle around the two Pikachus, pinning them down.

_You took them all on?! _Asked Ash. _All by yourself?_

_Just look at me,_ replied Pikachu.

Ash took a quick glance over his shoulder. Pikachu had cuts and bruises all over his body. It looked as though he had just come back from a war . . . which, he might have for all Ash knew.

Ash could see that Pikachu was already tired and worn out. Pikachu can't keep going.

But, he has too. Ash definitely cannot take on all of these Pokémon along with the Team Magma members by himself. Both him and Pikachu will have to fight together.

"Do you think it's the one?" asked one of the Team Magma members to one of the others.

"It does match the description, but we can't take the chance," replied the other. "The boss said, 'All intruders are to be exterminated without question'."

"Yes, sir!" said all ten at once.

_Oh, boy, _thought Ash.

"Magmar, use Flamethrower!"

"Absol, Quick Attack them from the side!"

"Machamp, do another Focus Punch!"

"Golem, Body Slam!"

"Graveler, you do a Body Slam too!"

"Scizor, Slash those two!

"Dustox, use Gust!"

"Lairon, ram your head into whichever one is the closest!"

"Dusclops, Dark Orb!"

All of the attacks seemed to have come at once. Ash jumped to his side as a long line of fire flew over to his body. As soon as he was back on his feet, he had to dodge roll over his shoulder to get out of the way from a Body Slam from the Graveler. He rolled back over to his feet, but then ducked his head as a glowing fist came from the Machamp.

Pikachu wasn't having the best of luck either. First, he stabbed his paws into the ground for support. Then the Dustox's pushing winds from the Gust blew hard against Pikachu as he held on, but then he was slammed on the side by the Absol's Quick Attack.

Pikachu spun over to his side, but used the momentum to spin right back around to his feet again. However, right as his feet were planted on the ground, the Scizor came over and started slashing its claws at Pikachu. Pikachu dodged over to the left as one claw went to his right, then moved to the right as the other claw went to his left. He repeated this process at least two, quick times until the Scizor changed it up and swung a claw over Pikachu's head. Pikachu ducked under, barely having the tip of his hair on the top of his ears shaved off, then used his bent legs to shoot back up into the Scizor's open chest.

Scizor had the wind knocked out of him as Pikachu's head slammed into the chest and fell down to the ground with Pikachu still stuffing his head into Scizor's chest. They both fell on the ground just as the Lairon came charging in.

Pikachu saw the Lairon and jumped away at the very last second, making the Lairon ram into the fallen Scizor instead of him.

Back over with Ash: the Machamp aimed another glowing fist at him, but Ash was quick and dodged over to the side. Out from the corner of his eye, Ash could see the Golem getting ready to do his turn of the Body Slam.

The Machamp got yet another glowing fist ready and swung it over at Ash's head. Ash ducked under it, making the Machamp trip over itself, then swung around his own Iron Tail right at the side of Machamp.

The hit pushed Machamp off balance and made it stagger over to the side, blocking the Golem from Ash's view, but Machcamp didn't fall over. Didn't matter though, because the Golem, having had aimed for Ash, instead Body Slammed on the Machamp. The weight of the rock Pokémon pushed the Machamp completely over to its back and onto the ground.

Pikachu leaped over back to Ash's side after he had dodged the Metagross. When Ash saw him, he nodded and got back in his stance.

The Dusclops was floating above them, charging up a large, purple orb in its hands.

_Pikachu, put everything you got into one Thundershock!_ Shouted Ash in his mind.

Pikachu closed his eyes and clenched his fist close to his body.

The Dusclops seemed to turn dark, then shot out the dark orb of energy right at them. Pikachu quickly released his electricity at full force right at the orb.

"CHU!"

Both the dark and the electricity battled against each other at that one shot in mid-air. The dark orb continued to push, but Pikachu wouldn't give up and continued with his powerful Thundershock.

Ash was still at Pikachu's side, but as he watched, the same Lairon from before saw Ash and used this time to ram right into Ash's side while he left his guard down.

Ash fell down to his hip, then rolled back over to his feet again and faced the Lairon. As Ash faced Lairon, he could see all of the other Pokémon either get back up from being hit or get closer to the two of them.

Ash looked over at Pikachu. He was still pushing back the Dark Orb with his Thundershock. The orb didn't seem to moving back at all, it even seemed to be slowly moving forward!

_This isn't working_, thought Ash._ We're not doing enough damage to all of them. If one of us attacks one, then one of the others will attack us._

The Absol came rushing in with another Quick Attack, this time aiming for Ash. Ash dodged it using his own Quick Attack ability, but then was taken back down to the ground by the Body Slam from the Graveler that came from behind as soon as he slowed down.

The enormous weight from the rock Pokémon crushed Ash's body from underneath it. Ash tried to breathe, but it felt as though his lungs were becoming flat against the pressure Graveler was giving him.

Graveler, instead of getting off of Ash, decided to simply lay on him since it seemed that he wasn't going anywhere.

Ash, now on his stomach, placed both on his paws on the ground. Then, using all of his strength, he tried to push the Graveler off of his back. However, despite his attempt, the Graveler proved to be too heavy for him to lift.

Ash let go of his arms and fell back down to his stomach. He could feel his body becoming smaller and smaller from the crushing weight.

He can't give up! He wont give up!

Ash grunted, then placed his paws back on the ground in a push-up position.

Ash slowly pushed his paws against the ground. At first, he didn't move. Ash refused to give up and pushed even harder, this time tensing all of the muscles in his arms.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the ground started to move away from Ash. The Graveler, who was the one on top of Ash, noticed that he was somehow able to move.

Then, finally, there was a small space between Ash's crushed body and the ground. All at once, Ash tucked in one of his arms, rolled over to his side into the space, and twisted the rest of his body out from underneath the Graveler.

The Graveler fell down with a small THUD, but it didn't hurt it much.

While the Graveler was on its stomach, Ash ran over to it with another Iron Tail ready, trying to get it while it was open just like it did it to him.

But, right before he swung his Iron Tail on the rock Pokémon, a large net seemed to come out of nowhere and encased him.

Ash was pulled back by the net and fell back on the ground with the net on top of him. By looking up, he saw that the Team Magma members were there and probably were the ones that used this net.

Ash tried to get out, and almost did, but the Team Magma members all laid on top of him, giving Ash a deja-vu of what he had just tried to get out of.

Ash tried to get back up, but this time he was on his back and had to leverage against all ten members.

They were touching him. Ash did everything that Pikachu told him to do, everything to the very last detail on how to use his electricity. He tensed every muscle, he tensed his cheeks, he squeezed his eyes shut, and concentrated on that same orb of electricity exploding in his mind.

Yet . . . nothing happened . . . again . . .

Ash tried and tried and tried and tried again, but it was almost as if his body just wouldn't let him do a Thundershock. All ten of the members were still on top of him, but were now barking orders to their Pokémon to attack Pikachu.

_No!_ Thought Ash. _Pikachu, run! Stop your attack and run far away!_

Ash turned his head over to the side where he could see Pikachu between the members. Pikachu was still doing his Thundershock against the Dusclops' Dark Orb.

_Pikachu_, Ash begged in his mind. _Run . . . please . . ._

Finally, Pikachu stopped his attack. The electricity dissolved away and allowed the orb to plow straight through it.

Pikachu dodged to the side, avoiding the oncoming attack of the Dark Orb.

However, right as Pikachu dodged, to Ash's fear, the Absol came charging over and dug its long, razor horn into the side of Pikachu.

Pikachu, not giving up, got back to his feet. He was about to do another Thundershock, but was punched in the back of the head by another Focus Punch from the randomly appearing Machamp. Pikachu flew to the ground, face first.

As he was on the ground, Pikachu could smell something burning. He quickly looked to his side and saw a large puddle of lava oozing its way to his body. Pikachu rolled away for his life as the lava came dangerously close to his face.

Then, just as he was rolling away, the Golem rolled up into a bolder and rolled straight towards Pikachu.

The rock Pokémon rolled right over Pikachu just as he was getting back up to his feet. Pikachu cried in pain as the bolder rolled over his small, yellow body, crushing it.

Ash closed his eyes. He didn't want to see his friend be in so much pain.

It seems that . . . they have lost.

Ash opened his eyes one last time to see Pikachu, just to see his best friend one last time before they go . . .

* * *

Delia heard a knock at the door.

"Now who could that be?" she asked herself.

James, who was bobbing into his plate of food because he couldn't use his hands, looked up from his plate and at the door.

Brock wasn't in the house. He had already left and went back over to the professor's lab.

Mrs. Ketchum walked over to the door and opened it. The person who knocked was Officer Jenny.

"Officer?" said Mrs. Ketchum. "What are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

"I'm here looking for someone," replied Jenny, strictly.

James looked over at who it was at the door. When he saw Officer Jenny and heard her say that she was looking for someone, he dashed out of the kitchen and into the back of the house, trying to hide.

"Who is it that you're looking for?" asked Delia.

"These people," she said.

Jenny reach back into a back pocket and pulled out a folded poster. She unfolded the poster and showed Mrs. Ketchum the pictures that it held.

There, on the poster was some large, black letters that read "Wanted" over the top. In the middle were three pictures.

One of them had a young adult man in it, dark skinned, black, spiky hair, and squinted eyes.

Brock.

Another one was a much younger child, male, probably younger than ten, had black hair as well, but more combed, and wore glasses.

Max.

The last picture was a pre-matured girl, long brown hair, and wore a red headband.

May.

"I am looking for these kids, ma'am," said Officer Jenny. "There are reports that they had two Pikachus with them. One wore a hat while the other didn't. Have you seen any of these people?"

Mrs. Ketchum was taken back. Where these really the same kids that she was helping out with? Was Jenny talking about her Ash that was now a Pokémon?

"Um," started Mrs. Ketchum. "What have they done? Is it serious?"

"Very, ma'am," said Jenny while folding the poster back up. "They have attempted to steal many Pokémon and have threatened many people along with their Pokémon. We have reason to suspect that they are around here. Have you seen any of them or seen anything suspicious?"

"Um," started Mrs. Ketchum.

She couldn't think of anything. Ash never did any of these things, she knew that her son would never do that!

Then, she remembered what her son told her. That night when she found out what had happened to Ash, he had told her how he became a Pikachu along with all of his other adventures. She remembered something about his friends having been arrested for no reason.

Could this be what he was talking about?

"No," said Mrs. Ketchum. "I'm sorry, but I haven't seen them anywhere."

Officer Jenny sighed.

"Alright, thank you, ma'am," she said. "We've looked everywhere for these people and haven't found anything."

"Well, I wish you luck," said Mrs. Ketchum politely.

"Thank you," said Officer Jenny.

The officer turned around, then walked away. Mrs. Ketchum closed the door . . .

Then locked it.

**Alright, it's finally done! Now, I'm not going to say that this one sucked, because whenever I do that, it ends up the exact opposite. So, just tell me what you think. **

**Really, Idon't care if you say it's bad or anything, just tell me why it's bad and I'll fix it up. **


	17. Chapter 17

Inner Strength part 17

"Pikapi!" screamed Pikachu from underneath the Golem.

Pikachu reached out his paw towards Ash, as if wanting to touch his hand once more. Ash poked out his own paw out of the net, mimicking Pikachu and reaching out for him.

Ash closed his eyes and turned his head.

_No. I will not give up! I wont let it end like this! _He thought.

Ash tried once more. He concentrated on that orb of electricity again in his mind, then tensed every being inside of him. He closed his eyes shut and tensed even harder.

He tensed everything. He tensed his legs, arms, chest, and he tensed his cheeks.

Then, the orb inside Ash's mind exploded, this time with even more power surging out of it, covering every aspect, every thought, every memory inside of Ash's mind. Ash could not think of anything else besides the pure power of electricity.

And with that, Ash released it.

Then . . . there was a light. Ash could see some sort of blue light through his closed eyes. Had he done it? Has he finally been able to produce electricity?

Ash opened his eyes. He was still under the net, but there were now two Team Magma members instead of ten.

Suddenly, another flash of blue light flew through the air and hit one of the members right off of Ash. But, Ash didn't make that one.

Ash looked back over to the side, right were Pikachu was.

There, near Pikachu, was that same Lucario from before! He was shooting out blue spheres of energy right at the Team Magma members. Already, Lucario was charging up another sphere to shoot.

The last member that was still on top of Ash quickly got off. He didn't want to get hit like his other comrades.

When the member left, Lucario came over to Ash and tore off the net. Ash got up to his feet and looked up at Lucario. Lucario looked back down at him, but then turned around and face all of the other Pokémon of Team Magma's.

He brought both of his paws over to his side, then raised one of his paws over the other with both palms facing each other. Then, the same blue sphere began to grow between Lucario's paws.

Lucario then shot out both of his paws in front of him, shooting out the sphere.

The sphere flew through the air like a bullet towards the Golem on top of Pikachu. The Golem saw it coming and tried to move, but he was on his stomach and was too heavy to move quickly.

The sphere slammed right on Golem's head, causing him to roll backwards onto his back and off of Pikachu.

Ash saw his chance and ran over to Pikachu's side, aiding his best friend.

The Golem tried to get back up to his feet, but Lucario suddenly dashed in with surprising speed and slammed his foot right at the Golem's head.

Golem spun around on his back from the blow. Lucario got another sphere ready and shot it out again. The sphere landed on Golem's side, this time knocking out the rock reptile.

Ash kneeled down beside Pikachu. He was unconscious, bruised, and cut all over. He needs to be taken to the Pokécenter, pronto.

Ash heard something. He quickly turned his head and saw Absol dashing over to him with his horn baring before him as he ran.

Ash knew he couldn't move. If he did, Pikachu might get hurt with the attack instead of him.

Absol charged in still, but then Lucario flashed by with an outstretched foot. Lucario's heel slammed against the Absol, sending the Pokémon flying over to a tree. The combination of the kick and hitting the tree was too much for the Absol and he fell to the floor.

Lucario landed back on his feet as delicately as a feather.

Machamp came in from behind and slammed a glowing fist right on Lucario's back. Lucario yelped in pain, but then turned around and faced Machamp.

Machamp swung another glowing fist at Lucario, but Lucario suddenly vanished. Machamp, now confused, quickly glanced around to see where Lucario was.

But, the mysterious Pokémon was nowhere to be seen.

Then, Lucario flashed back into sight, but now right behind Machamp and in the air. He lashed out a Round Kick right on the fighter's back. Then, Lucario flashed out of sight again, but in just a second flashed back into sight, this time at Machamp's side still in midair. Lucario lashed out his palm right on Machamp's side.

Machamp yelled in pain, then swung over his arm to get Lucario. However, Lucario had already flashed out of sight again and reappeared at Machamp's other side.

Lucario delivered another Round Kick, this time at Machamp's stomach, then flashed away again. Then, he was behind Machamp, forced a palm into his back, disappeared again and reappeared over Machamp's head, slammed a Ax Kick on his head, disappeared, and reappeared right in front of Machamp.

Now, Machamp had been beaten up so much by so many blows that he could barely stand. Lucario, still in front of the fighter, now clenched his paw into a fist. Then, he shot his fist straight into Machamp's gut, and he kept it there in Machamp's gut.

As Ash watched, he could see Lucario's fist glowing on top of Machamp's stomach. Machamp seemed to be getting weaker and weaker by every passing second that Lucario's fist stayed on his stomach, and yet Lucario seemed to be getting better and better. The bruise that was on Lucario's back from Machamp's punch was healing away rapidly.

Lucario pulled his paw away from Machamp. The fighting Pokémon fell down to the ground, exhausted and unmoving.

As soon as Machamp was down, Graveler, Scizor, and Growlithe came charging in towards Lucario.

Graveler jumped high up in the air and did a Body Slam on Lucario, but Lucario quickly dodged it by rolling over his shoulder.

Scizor dashed in and swung around his claws, slashing at Lucario while Growlithe leaped up at him. Lucario grabbed Scizor's claw before it hit him and pulled Scizor over to block the attack from Growlithe.

Growlithe, aiming for Lucario, slammed instead onto the Scizor, causing the Growlithe to hurt himself and the Scizor while ricocheting back down to the ground.

Lucario, then, threw aside the hurt Scizor and swung down another Ax Kick over the Growlithe while he was down. The kick hit Growlithe's head, but it just made the Pokémon mad.

Lucario heard something and looked behind himself, then ducked down as a large line of flame came out of Magmar's mouth.

As soon as the fire was gone, Lairon charged in with a tackle towards Lucario. Lucario lunged to the side, dodging the attack, and shot out another sphere at Magmar. The sphere hit its target perfectly, knocking Magmar out with a single shot.

Growlithe leaped straight onto Lucario's back. The attack surprised Lucario and knocked him off balance and out of thought.

Growlithe, still on Lucario's back, opened his mouth and bit down hard against Lucario's shoulder. Lucario yelled in pain from the bite, but reached back to his shoulder that Growlithe was biting and grabbed Growlithe's head. Then, Lucario pulled Growlithe off of his back and tossed him over to the Lairon that tried to attack him before.

The two collided, knocking out Growlithe thanks to the metal on Lairon, but only knocked Larion off balance and onto his side.

Scizor, having already gotten back up, prepared his claws, making them glow again with energy, and dashed over to Lucario.

Lucario turned towards Scizor just in time to see the attack and dodged the Metal Claw. However, Scizor tried again with his other already glowing claw and sung it over. Lucario ducked down, dodging the attack again, then moved to the left as another claw swipped the air, then over to the right when another Metal Claw cut through the air right next to him. Then, Scizor jabbed down towards Lucario's feet with both of his claws at once. Lucario jumped into the air, avoiding the claws, while placing a paw on Scizor's head.

From there, Lucario used Scizor's head to help him flip over to Scizor's back, which Lucario did, and slammed his elbow on his other arm onto Scizor's back. Scizor took the blow, making him fall to the ground.

But then, Scizor spread out his wings and punched the ground with his claw. The combination of the two forces made Scizor fly back up to his feet and into the air above Lucario, hovering with his wings.

Scizor then flipped upside down in the air and delivered multiple attacks with his claws straight at Lucario's head.

Lucario blocked with amazing speed. He slammed his paws against each and every blow that came to him from above. His arms moved so fast that it was hard for Ash to even tell a blur apart from an actual arm.

Finally, Lucario, instead of blocking another blow, grabbed both claws at the same time. Scizor, still hovering upside down over Lucario stood surprised and watched for Lucario's next move.

And Lucario showed it. He pulled both of Scizor's claws down to the ground, pulling Scizor's whole body down with them, and brought up his knee which kneed Scizor's forehead while the bug was being pulled down to the ground.

Scizor's wings stopped moving and the bug fell hard on the ground, down for the count.

All at once, Graveler got back up and charged over with his own glowing rock fist, Lairon got back to his feet and charged over again, Dustox swooped down in the air towards Lucario, and Dusclops got ready another Dark Orb.

Lucario, knowing he was being ganged up on, grabbed Graveler's fist before he was able to punch with it, spun around to the rock Pokémon's back and pushed Graveler down to the ground by punching his shoulder down. Lucario leaped away as Lairon charged by, then aimed another sphere at Dustox while the bug was flying in. The sphere stopped Dustox's Fly attack, but didn't knock the bug out.

Then, Dusclops, having the orb fully charged and ready, shot out the dark energy straight at Lucario. Lucario saw the orb, then flashed out of sight.

Ash was barely able to see what Lucario did next. The Pokémon moved so fast that if Ash had blinked, he would've missed everything.

Lucario, moving with extremely fast speed, jumped up to Dustox and delivered a Round Kick, pushing the unknowing bug downward to the ground, then charged up another sphere and moved over to Lairon, dug the sphere into Lairon's head instead of actually shooting it out like usual. Then, Lucario moved over to Graveler (standing between Graveler and the Dusclops) and stood in front of the rock Pokémon.

Then, time seemed to start back up.

The Dark Orb flew down to where Lucario used to be, but was now replaced with Dustox. The orb hit Dustox instead of Lucario, knocking out the bug in a single hit. Lairon was already knocked out because of the point blank hit with the sphere.

Graveler saw Lucario in front of him and immediately shot out large bullets of rock straight at him. Lucario easily dodged them, and the large rocks (having had aimed at Lucario) flew straight up at Dusclops, hitting the ghost without it knowing it.

The Dusclops fell down to the ground, having been hit by an attack that it wasn't expecting. Now, there was only Graveler left.

The rock Pokémon looked around himself. All of his comrades were down for the count, unable to continue to fight.

Graveler looked up at Lucario. He didn't seem to be tried at all and only a small bite mark was the only wound that lay on him. Graveler knew his chances.

The Team Magma members that had woken up and saw part of what happened, quickly returned their unconscious Pokémon to their Poké Balls and dashed away out of sight, fearing Lucario and seeking safety. Even Graveler turned tail and ran with his other trainers.

"What are we going to tell the boss?" shouted one of the members as he ran.

"Nothing!" replied another, running alongside. "What he doesn't know wont hurt him! Just keep running!"

Eventually, the forest covered all sight of all of the Team Magma members as they continued to run away.

Ash, still beside Pikachu and having not moved the whole entire time, looked up at Lucario. Lucario looked over down at him.

Ash had been awestruck this whole time. This Lucario, the Lucario that seems so familiar, had just saved their lives. What should he say?

"Um," started Ash. "Th-Thank you—"

Lucario suddenly turned around and dashed away towards the thicker part of the forest.

"No!" shouted Ash. "Wait! Please wait!"

Lucario, almost leaving, slowed down and stopped. He didn't turn around and face Ash, but kept his back to him.

"Please," begged Ash. "Who are you? You feel so familiar for some reason."

The Lucario stayed quiet. He didn't move, didn't blink, and Ash wasn't even sure if he even breathed at all.

Finally, Lucario opened his mouth. He talked just like the Lucario Ash had met before, just with a different voice.

"D-do . . ."

Lucario stopped. He sighed and shook his head, as if he couldn't believe that he was going to say this. Then, he brought his head back up and looked over his shoulder at Ash.

"Do you know a young woman named 'Delia'?" he asked.

Delia?! Of course Ash knew her! She was his own mother! But, why would this Lucario be asking about her? And how does he even know Ash's own mom?

"Um, yes," said Ash.

Lucario's eyes lit up. He turned his body towards him, but still wouldn't completely face Ash.

"You seem to be able to talk like a human," said Lucario. "I wont ask why or how you are able to, but could you tell Delia something for me?"

Ash hesitated, then nodded.

"Will . . ." Lucario stopped. His eyes started getting watery as he tried to get the words out. "Will you tell her that . . ."

Tears started streaming down Lucario's cheeks. What could be wrong?

"Tell her that," said Lucario. "I-I'm so sorry."

Then, Lucario dashed into the forest, using the trees to cover him.

"Wait! No!" said Ash, stretching out his paw. "You still haven't . . ."

But Lucario was already completely out of sight. Ash couldn't even see a flash of blue anywhere.

Ash sighed and put his arm back down. He turned around and looked down at Pikachu.

Pikachu was still unconscious and still inert. Ash knew what he has to do, but he still couldn't get that Lucario out of his head. He has never had such a feeling ever before in his life.

"_Tell her that . . . I-I'm so sorry."_

_Maybe Mom will know something_, thought Ash.

Ash got down and picked up Pikachu's shoulders with both of his paws and started pulling his best friend out of the forest.

* * *

"Professor?" called Brock when he opened the door to the lab. "Are you here?"

Brock entered the laboratory and closed the door behind him.

The lab had a few amateur scientist around, practicing and studying how everything works, but Brock could not see Oak anywhere.

"He must be in his office," said Brock to himself.

Brock walked over to the door that led to the professor's office and opened it.

The office was just the same as before: scattered papers everywhere, desk was completely unorganized, and some test tubes and beakers were left laying around.

However, Brock noticed that there were actually fewer test tubes than before.

Well, he never counted how many there were, but by just seeing the mess, he could tell that there was defiantly less.

Brock walked into the office, then was surprised as a certain professor popped out of nowhere and scared Brock half to death.

"Woah!" said Brock when Oak popped up.

Brock sighed with a smile and waved at the professor.

"Well, you sure did scare me Prof. Oak! Please, don't do that again," said Brock with a sarcastic smile.

But the professor didn't smile. He looked at Brock seriously, straight into his eyes.

"Brock," said Oak. "Were you followed by anyone?"

Brock was confused.

"Um, no," he said. "I don't think so . . ."

"'Don't think so'?" asked Oak.

"Well, I didn't check . . ."

Oak walked pass Brock and to the door, which he quickly locked.

"We can't take any chances," he said.

"What? Why? What's going on?" asked Brock. "And where's May and Max?"

"We're right here," said a familiar voice.

Brock looked towards the voice. It was from Max. He was next to his sister, at the end of the room.

"What's going on?" asked Brock.

Max took a step forward from his sister.

"We saw some police officers come into the town," started Max.

Brock was taken aback.

"The police?! Where they looking for us?" asked Brock.

"Yes," said Max, plainly. "They came over here and asked Prof. Oak if he had seen us."

Brock turned towards Oak.

"What did you say?" he asked.

Oak turned away from the door and faced Brock.

"I told them that I've never seen the likes of them, then they left and went over to Ms. Ketchum's house," Oak said. "I hid Max and May here in this room when they came, and you should stay here too until they leave."

"Are they still here?"

"I don't know, but I think they are," said Oak. "Now, Brock. Please be sure about this: were you followed or did someone see you?"

Brock paused and hesitated.

"Um . . ." he stammered. "I didn't see anyone on my way here. I didn't even notice any police cars or anything."

Oak shook his head and walked pass Brock, going towards his clustered desk.

"We can't risk it. Stay here with me," said the professor. "Has anyone seen Ash?"

"Last time I saw him was when he left outside," said May.

"Yeah," entered Max. "And his Pikachu isn't here, so that must mean that he's with him."

Oak started rummaging through all of the papers on his desk.

"We need to find him before any of the police do," said Oak. "After all, they did say that they were looking for him."

"Really?" asked Max. "I've never heard of a wanted Pokémon before."

"Well," admitted Oak. "No, they're not exactly looking for Ash and Pikachu, but if the police do find those two, then that will tell them that you three are here too."

Everyone stood back, shocked.

He was right. Oak explained to them what Officer Jenny asked him and in one of her descriptions, she had a male Pikachu with a hat along with another male Pikachu without one.

Then, in the mist of all of this, May thought about Ash's condition.

"Wait, professor?" she asked. "What about the antidote for Ash? Is it ready yet?"

"That's what I'm looking for," said Oak.

Oak moved aside more papers and beakers on his desk, then he grabbed a small vial filled with a green liquid. He held up the vial for everyone to see.

"Is . . . is that it?" asked Brock, not leaving his eyes from the liquid.

"I do hope so," said the professor.

May tilted her head to the side, confused.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

Oak turned towards her.

"I don't know if this will work on him or not. Everything I've made seems to not be strong enough," explained the professor. "I used Ash's blood samples to see if the antidote would work, but it's like the potion inside him just ignores the antidote. Everything I've done had no effect just because it's not strong enough to fight the potion."

May scratched her head.

"So . . . this one is supposed to be stronger?" asked May, mentioning to vial in Oak's hand.

"Maybe, maybe not," said Oak. "But I want to give it to Ash as soon as possible so I can see if it is or isn't. That way, if it is then Ash will turn back into a human and will stay unsuspecting to the police."

"How?" asked Max.

Oak looked down at him.

"Because the police are looking for a Pikachu with a hat, not a young boy with a hat," he said.

Max "Oh"ed and nodded his head, understanding.

"Now, we must find Ash before—"

There was a loud knock on the door to the office. Oak paused in his sentence and walked over to the door.

Without opening the door, the professor asked who it was.

"It's me, professor, Jonathan. Someone at the main door wants to speak to you," said the person that knocked.

"Who?" asked the professor.

"Well," said Jonathan. "She says her name is Jenny and that it's urgent."

Everyone in the room gasped.

"Jenny?!" said May, terrified. "Do you think she found us?"

"Here," whispered Oak to them. "Let me handle this, but make sure that this door stays locked!"

Everyone stayed quiet. They had no choice. If Officer Jenny was out there, as soon as they leave this room, they would be busted for sure!

Everyone nodded to the professor.

The professor nodded back and turned to open the door, but then he stopped and turned back around.

"Here. Keep this safe with you."

Oak handed Brock the vial with the green liquid inside of it. Brock took it, using both hands to make sure that it doesn't drop.

Then, Prof. Oak turned back around and opened the door, and quickly closed it behind him. Brock walked over to the door and locked it.

* * *

"Prof. Oak of Pallet Town?" asked Officer Jenny.

"Yes, that's me," said Prof. Oak. "What seems to be the problem, officer? You already came here once today."

"I am aware of that," said Jenny. "But it seems that we have had no luck in finding our perpetrators, so we're trying a new tactic."

"A new tactic?" asked Oak.

"Yes." Jenny nodded. "Me and the other officers are going to search all of the buildings in this town. Starting with your lab, professor."

Oak paused.

Jenny and the officers were really in a great pursuit for May and the group. But, how do they know so well of where they are? What is making them so sure that they are here in Pallet Town? And do they know that May, Brock, and Max are in this building? Could that be the true reason why they wish to search?

"Of course, with your permission, professor, we will begin our search," finished Jenny.

What should he say?

Oak thought about all of his options. If he says "yes", then the police might find May, Max, and Brock. If he says "no", then that will make him look suspicious, therefore attracting more attention from the police which will eventually come back and probably find May and everyone whether or not he says "yes" or "no".

Either way, it seems that they will get caught.

Oak made a decision. He should stay out of suspicion, but he is going to need some more time.

"Of course, officer," said Oak. "But please, before you start your search, may I talk to my staff to tell them what is going on?"

Jenny looked at him, suspicion always gleaming in her eyes, then nodded.

Oak thanked her and closed the door, but didn't lock it.

As soon as the door was closed, he swirled around and faced the room. He knew what to do, but he had to make it look like he wasn't doing it . . . or sound like he wasn't doing it.

"Attention everyone!" shouted Oak to all of his workers.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at him.

"We're going to have a visitor!" shouted Oak quite loudly. While he talked, he walked over to his office door.

"The police are coming to this lab just to look around and make sure that everything is alright!"

Oak knocked on his office door.

Brock walked over and opened the door slowly. When he saw that it was just the professor, he opened the door all the way.

Quickly, Oak motioned all of them to get out.

"I just want all of you to work and act like you would regularly! If any police officers ask you any questions, I want you to answer them fully and truthfully!"

Oak said this while waving May and Max out of the room and winked at all of his employees.

When all of the scientists saw his wink, they knew exactly what to do, and they all nodded. Oak nodded back to them.

Then, when May, Max, and Brock were out of his office, Oak turned to them and whispered softly so no one outside could hear.

"Alright. I want all of you, as quickly as possible, to go to the river. If Ash is anywhere, I know that he has to go there eventually. Stay there and stay hidden while I stall for time, OK?" said the professor.

Everyone nodded.

Oak took a quick peek hind him and at the door, worried about his timing. He turned back over and faced Brock.

"Do you still have the antidote?" whispered Oak.

Brock nodded and pulled out the vial from his pocket, then put it back in.

Oak nodded.

"Good. Now quickly! There's the back door other there," he whispered while pointing towards the door.

Everyone nodded and gave their thanks to the professor, then ran quietly over to the back door Oak talked about.

* * *

Ash kept on pulling his unconscious friend. Pikachu was on the ground with Ash's paws underneath his armpits, using the grip to pull Pikachu across the ground.

Eventually, Ash could see the end to the trees. He pulled Pikachu out just a little more and . . .

Finally, plain, flat land and all of the oh so familiar buildings of Pallet Town. Ash paused to rest only for a second, then got back down and continued pulling Pikachu closer to the small town.

Even though his best friend was hurt and even though he had just escape from a near capture, Ash could not leave his mind from thinking about that Lucario he and Pikachu saw.

Why did he help Ash and Pikachu? Why did he run away from them in the first place?

And the most important question of all: How does this Lucario know about Ash's own mother? If Ash has never met him before, how could he know his mom?

These thoughts kept playing and replaying in Ash's head along with each question.

He pulled Pikachu out from beneath one of the tree's shadows and kept pulling.

_Why does he look so familiar? _Thought Ash. _I know I've never seen him, but something about him just tells me that I know him . . . or does he know me?_

Ash kept pulling Pikachu, but this shadow was oddly large. Ash stopped his thoughts for a moment and looked up towards the trees that he had just left.

But, as Ash's eyes came up, he didn't look at the trees, but instead he looked at the sky. The sun was slowly sinking back into the Earth and shadows emitted everywhere.

It's already dawn! How much time had Ash spent in that forest? How long had he and Pikachu been gone?

In only a few hours, it will be nightfall and Team Aqua will be expecting him, but he can't leave Pikachu in this condition!

But, if Ash doesn't get to the river in time, Team Aqua might hurt Misty and Misty II . . . or worse.

Ash shook the thought out of his head.

"Don't think about that kind of stuff, Ash," he said to himself. "Everything will be alright. Lets just get Pikachu over to somewhere where he will be safe and can heal."

But . . . where was that?

The question suddenly popped into Ash's mind. Pallet Town was such a small town that it doesn't have a Pokécenter anywhere. Where was he supposed to take Pikachu?

His house? No . . . his mom has enough to worry about with Xander and James to look after. Besides, she probably doesn't even know how to tend a Pokémon.

Prof. Oak's laboratory?

Hm . . . maybe. Ash was sure that the professor was bound to have something that can heal Pokémon. After all, he does study them for a living.

Alright, so the professor's it is!

Ash started pulling Pikachu over to the direction of the laboratory.

A small wind blew over and through Ash as he walked.

* * *

Bayleef laid down across from the little Pichu.

The little guy was so playful and happy. Right now, both of them were playing Patty Cake with each other. Bayleef, still laying down, used her vines to pat on the little Pichu's paws.

The Pichu was smiling as they patted their paws/vines together and laughed whenever they messed up. Bayleef herself was smiling throughout the entire game, just enjoying the Pichu's company.

Bayleef couldn't take her eyes off of this Pichu's eyes. They looked so much like her trainer's. The thought of them wouldn't leave her mind on how similar they were. Even the Pichu's laugh sounded so much like Ash's.

Now that she was thinking about it, this Pichu sure did learn Patty Cake pretty darn fast. Has he played this game before? Or has he played something similar to it?

A soft rustling broke Bayleef's train of thought. She stopped Patty Caking with the Pichu and turned her head over to where the sound came from.

There were two humans over on the other side of the gate. Neither of them had Bayleef ever seen before, and they both wore clothes similar to that human officer lady Ash and her had met so many times. Could they be the police she has heard about?

If they are, what are they doing here?

Bayleef slowly put away her vines and got up to her feet. She listened hard to what the two humans were talking about.

"Finally! A well deserved break!" said one.

"I know what you mean,"said the other. "We've been up all night looking for just these three oh-so-special fugitives. Why are we even here anyway?"

"We know that the fugitives are here in this town. That's a fact," said the first one.

"Yeah, but if we're so sure, than why haven't we found them yet?" asked the other with an annoyed tone. "And what's this about them being kids? No way could some kids be doing all of this. You ask me, there's something fishy going on."

The other human put his hands up and shrugged.

"Don't ask me. I'm just doing what everyone is telling me to do. They tell me to find a couple of kids, that's what I'm trained to do. No questions asked," he said.

"I know, I know," said the other. "I'm supposed to be the same way, but I still keep getting the feeling that there's something wrong with all of this. Do we even know for certain that they are adults?"

"No," said the first human. "Jenny keeps saying that they only look like kids and are actually adults. Either way, with how much stuff is on their record, kid or not, they're going to be in jail or juvenile or whatever for a long time . . . or even get the death penalty."

"The death penalty?!" said the other, shocked. "How'd they get that?!"

The first human paused, looked around to check if it was clear, and leaned over to the second human and whispered something in his ear. Bayleef wasn't able to hear what he whispered, but by the human's look on his face, she could tell that it wasn't good.

" . . .but it's only a rumor," said the first human, raising his voice to a normal tone again.

"I don't know . . ." started the second human. "That seems like taking it a little too far, don't you think? Besides, if it's just a rumor, than we shouldn't worry about it, right?"

"True," said the other. "Either way, we still need to find them."

"Okay," agreed the second human. "What do they look like again?"

"I can't remember . . ." said the first human. "But I do remember something about a Pikachu."

"A Pikachu?"

"Yeah. Like they had two or something. . . one had a red hat with some kind of decoration on it."

The other human was about to say something else, but a third human, dressed in the same fashion stopped them.

"What are you two doing out here?!" demanded the third human.

"Eh . . .um . . . we—"

"No excuses!" shouted the third human. "You two get back in here and help search!"

"Yes, sir."

All of the humans walked away from the gate and over to the lab. What are they doing there?

Bayleef pondered about what she had just heard. Apparently, the police are looking for some humans that have done something extremely bad and can't find them.

Then, there was that part about two Pikachus.

Could it be? Ash always had his Pikachu around with him no matter what. . .but, this was two Pikachus . . .

The Pichu walked up to Bayleef and tugged at her leg with his paw. Bayleef turned away from the gate and looked down at the Pichu.

Wait . . . that's it! Bayleef thought that this Pichu was Ash because of that time Ash was turned into a Pikachu by that witch they had met before!

So . . .could they be looking for . . .

Oh no . . .

She has to help Ash! Bayleef has to find a way to find Ash and help him get out of this mess!

But . . . how?

A soft wind came blowing in towards Bayleef. She took a deep breath trying to clear her mind and think of something to find Ash. . .

That scent . . . the wind blew in a very familiar scent to Bayleef.

Some sort of . . . small creature . . . defiantly Pokémon . . .but with a small hint of human in it too.

Very furry . . . . probably electric . . . .

"Bay," she said.

Bayleef was ready to dash towards the gate, to try to get out of here and help her old trainer, but the tug on her leg reminded her that she wasn't alone.

She looked down at the Pichu. He looked up at her with his big Ash-like eyes.

"Bayleef bay," sighed Bayleef.

She got out her vines and wrapped them around the Pichu, picked him up, and placed him on her back. She wrapped more vines around her own body and around the Pichu's body, that way he wont fall off her.

Now, with the Pichu on her back, she dashed over to the gate.

Bayleef ran her hardest, going faster and faster by each and every step. Then, right as the gate was right in front of her, she leaped up into the air, tightening the vines around Pichu, and landed on the other side of the gate.

"Bayleef, bay bayleef leef," she said with determination and sprinted towards the scent.

**Alright, finally it's done! I am very VERY sorry about this taking so darn long, everyone. It's just that one thing after another kept popping up and getting in front of my schedule. :/**

**I hope that this made up everything. I'll try to make the update sooner than last time!**

**Thanks for all of your pacience and support! You have no idea how much it means! **


	18. Chapter 18

Inner Strength part 18

Ash continued to pull his unconscious friend across the field and towards Prof. Oak's laboratory.

Every now and then, Ash would look over at the sun to see if he still had some time left. The sun kept taunting him for it seemed like it was deeper into the ground when (at second glance) it really wasn't. Was time playing with him?

So, Ash decided not to look back at the sun and try to focus on getting to the professor's lab.

He looked straight forward, and that's when he saw something green dashing his way.

More Team Magma?

Team Aqua?

Maybe even Team Rocket?

_Boy, I've got too many things to worry about_, thought Ash.

* * *

Bayleef kept running. She could see something yellow not too far from her. Could it be him? It has to be him!

The young Pichu that was still riding her kept laughing and giggling throughout the whole way. This was just another ride from him, just another fun game.

Bayleef rolled her eyes, but kept running.

* * *

The green object kept coming closer and closer to Ash. He wasn't real sure of what to do.

Should he hide?

Should he run?

Well, he couldn't run, because if he did he would have to leave behind Pikachu, and he can't do that. He would never leave his best friend.

He couldn't hide mainly because he couldn't run to a hiding spot. So, either one was a bad choice.

Ash looked a little more closely at the green figure than ran his way.

"Wait. . ." he said, slowly recognizing. "Bayleef?"

Almost as soon as he said her name, Bayleef leaped up in the air and fell down right on top of Ash.

"Ash!" she said, rubbing her head against his. "Now I know it's you! I know it's you! Oh, I'm so glad to see you again!"

Ash struggled to try to get back up, but even in his human body he couldn't lift Bayleef's enormous body weight.

"Bayleef," Ash tried to say, but came out more like a wheeze. "Yeah. . .I'm happy to see you too."

Bayleef kept nuzzling and rubbing her head against Ash all while smiling and laughing. She was just so happy that she had finally found her old trainer.

"I missed you so much!" said Bayleef, still not getting off of her trainer.

"Bayleef," wheezed Ash. "Please. . .get off. . ."

Bayleef stopped rubbing her head against Ash's body and looked down at him. Ash looked serious. . . and worried.

Bayleef slowly got off of Ash and let him get back up.

"Huh," Ash breathed, thanking for the air he was now finally getting. "Thank you."

Bayleef smiled again at him in a way of saying, "You're welcome."

Ash nodded towards her, then looked back at his friend, Pikachu.

"Bayleef, I need your help," he said, looked back over to Bayleef. "Could you help me bring Pikachu over to the professor's lab?"

"Pikachu?" asked Bayleef, looking over Ash's shoulder.

There, right behind Ash, was the Pikachu she had known so well. She didn't even have to take a second look at him to know that it was him. But, she noticed that Pikachu was laying still on the ground, almost inert.

"What happened?" she asked.

"No time to explain," said Ash. "I just need to bring him over to the professor's. He needs help right now!"

On any other occasion, Bayleef would've been more than happy to assist her trainer, but she remembered what those two humans talked about while she was over at Oak's.

"_Yeah. Like they had two or something. . . one had a red hat with some kind of decoration on it."_

No. She couldn't risk it.

"No," said Bayleef. "Not to Oak's. Lets go somewhere else. . .Somewhere safer."

"Safer?" asked Ash. "Bayleef, Pikachu needs help and the only one in Pallet Town that can help Pokémon is Prof. Oak. Please take him there!"

"I'm sorry, Ash, but no," said Bayleef again.

"Why?"

"Because there are people looking for you!"

Ash paused. Now he was beginning to understand.

Bayleef continued.

"While I was there, I heard two humans talking to each other. They talked about you and how they need to find you and your friends. . .or something like that. Anyway, we can't go there! It's not safe for you or Pikachu," she explained.

Ash hesitated. They were at the professor's now? It seems like nowhere is safe except for Team Aqua's own HQ! Where else can he take Pikachu?

Ash looked up at the sun. It was already getting lower than before.

But where to take Pikachu? Before he was debating on his mom's house or the professor's. . .looks like Mom's is the best choice for now.

"Okay, Bayleef. I understand. Could you help me take Pikachu over to my mom's house instead?" asked Ash.

Bayleef smiled and nodded her head.

"Hold on," she soon said. "Could you hold this little guy for me while I get Pikachu?"

Without waiting for an answer, Bayleef unwrapped her vines around the Pichu that still stat on her back, picked him up with her vines, and placed him in front of Ash.

As soon as Ash saw Xander's face, he gasped in shock.

"Xander?" he said as he picked up his Pichu son. "What are you doing here?"

Xander looked up at his father and smiled playfully.

Bayleef look at Ash confusingly.

"You know this little guy?" she asked.

"Of course!" said Ash.

He looked down at Xander, this time with a very serious face.

"Don't go wondering off, Xan! I have enough to worry about as it is," he said.

Xander, still in his father's arms, just smiled again and embraced Ash. Ash couldn't stay mad at such a cute child, so he returned the hug.

"I don't want to loose you," he whispered in Xander's ear.

"Ash," interrupted Bayleef. "How do you know him?"

Ash looked back up at Bayleef.

"Oh. See, this is my s—"

Ash paused. Should he tell Bayleef that this Pichu is his son? It's odd enough how it sounds. How will she react? What will she think of him?

"Eh," said Ash, trying to get some time. "Um. . .I'll tell you later, Bayleef. Please just help Pikachu!"

"But—" started Bayleef, but decided that she'll try later and right now wasn't a good time to argue about something.

Bayleef picked up Pikachu (using her vines) and placed the inert creature on her back. Then, she pick up Ash (who held onto Xander) and placed him on her back behind Pikachu. After that, she tied them all down with her vines so they wouldn't fall off while she ran.

And off they went over to Ms. Ketchum's house.

* * *

"Will someone like to explain to me what just happened out there?"

The ten men in the red, Team Magma uniform stood before their boss. None of them wished to speak. . .none of them wanted to talk. . .none of them wanted to be in front of the boss.

"Well?" asked their leader yet again.

The men shuffled their feet. Yet again, none of them wanted to talk. One of the men cleared his throat in an attempt to buy some time.

Anger filled Team Magma's leader's face. He smashed his fist down so hard against his desk that the ten men in front of him jumped back in freight.

"If no one is going to tell me anything, then I'll have to get drastic here! Speak now!"

One of the men took a small step forward, shivering all over from fear. He tried to control himself, tried to hold back his fear of such a powerful person while he talked.

"U-uh," the man stammered. "Th-there were some intruders—"

"How many?" pushed the leader.

The Team Magma man pause for a second, then responded.

"T-two, sir."

"Two what?"

"T-two. . .Pikachu. . .sir."

Their leader sat back down on his chair, now intrigued.

"Pikachu, huh?" he said, mockingly.

The man gulped and nodded.

"Now. . .did these Pikachu hold any real threat to us at the time?" asked the leader.

The Team Magma man was taken aback and wasn't sure what to say.

"Um. . .th-they. . .uh. . ."

"They what? Did they attack us?"

"Um. . .n-n-no, sir."

"Did they follow us?"

"N-no, sir."

"Where they from our enemy?"

"Um. . .uh. . .no, sir."

"Did they even know that we were here before you and the other nine came out?"

Now the man could not control his fear. It was getting the best of him.

Their boss has found out. He found out everything without even having to watch it. . .and he was stuck right in the middle of it.

The man hung his head down.

"N-no. . .sir. . ."

Team Magma's boss stood back and shouted out with a booming voice.

"Then why did you even have the thought of going outside and blowing our cover completely?!"

He slammed his fist on the desk again.

"Do you want everyone to know that we're here?! Do you want Team Aqua to know that we've already come?!"

The man tried to talk, but his fear pulled at his words and made them come out as grunts and moans.

The leader picked up the papers on his desk and waved them in front of the man's face.

"And now I'm even getting reports that one of those Pikachu was on our side! The one that I had ordered to stay away from until it gets into our enemy's base!"

He threw the papers back on his desk, face filled with anger.

"Lets do a small count here. First: You see two Pikachu that just happen to come by. No threat whatsoever and no knowledge that we're here. They could've been wild Pokémon for all you knew!"

"B-but, sir—"

"Second: You decided to go outside, completely ruining our cover that we had well protected, and fight off some random, unknowing Pokémon that happen to be around here!"

"Sir, please—"

"Third: When you fought the two Pikachu with nine other men beside yourself, you still loose against them! Therefor not only exposing us, but also showing that we have a weak-spot!"

"Sir," the man managed to say. "I-it wasn't the Pikachu that defeated us, but a Lucario, sir."

Now the Team Magma leader walked around his desk and to the very front of the man. Then, he looked at the man straight in his eye.

"A Lucario?" he asked. "A Lucario? Here? In the Kanto region?"

The man hung his head even lower.

"Y-y-yes. . .sir."

The leader kept staring at the man. The two of them stood there in silence for a good three minuets, just letting the boss stare.

Then, Team Magma's leader pulled back his hand. . . and hurled it across the man's face.The man flew down to the ground, stumbling over his own feet and falling straight into his face.

The man did not move from the spot that he fell on. None of the other nine men move either, for fear had also consumed them.

No one talked. . .

No one spoke. . .

No one even breathed. . .

The leader turned towards the other nine.

"If I see any more mistakes around here from any of you, then I promise that I will demote you myself along with forty lashes. Understand?"

The nine somberly nodded their heads.

"I said 'Do you understand?'!" the leader shouted again.

"Yes sir!" said the others.

The leader started to walk back over to his desk.

"Good. This is very serious business, here," he said while sitting back down in his chair. "As you all know—or should know— we have moved closer to Team Aqua's HQ to prepare ourselves for our offensive advantage. We attack at the same time as stated before: tonight at twenty hundred hours, maybe even earlier if we can. Any questions?"

All nine quickly said no.

The leader watched them all for a while, then called on one of them to come forward. The new man took a baby step forward.

"You, see what you can find out about this 'Lucario' that you all stated so clearly that you've seen. That is all."

* * *

Bayleef ran faster than Ash could remember. In only moments, the four of them were at Mrs. Ketchum's front door.

After Bayleef released them all from her vines(except Pikachu), Ash went over to the door and tried to open it with his paw that wasn't carrying Xander, but it was locked. So instead, he knocked on the door. . .loudly.

"Who is it?" asked a nice, familiar voice.

"Mom! It's me, Ash! Let us in!"

Soon, Ash could hear the clicking of the door being unlocked, and saw his mother opening the door.

"Ash?" asked his mother.

Before Ash had the chance to say something back, his mom must've remembered something, for she made them all come in.

As soon as they were inside, Mrs. Ketchum closed the door and locked it again.

"Mom? What's wrong?" asked Ash, noticing how she kept wanting to lock the door.

Mrs. Ketchum turned around and faced Ash.

"People are looking for you, sweetie," she explained. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"I told you," remarked Bayleef, who stood next to Ash.

Delia looked over at Bayleef, surprised that the large Pokémon was in her house.

"Why did you bring your Bayleef over here, Ash?" asked his mother.

Before answering, Ash laid Xander on the ground so he wouldn't have to carry him, then looked back up at his mother.

"Pikachu got hurt, Mom. Do you think you can help him?" asked Ash.

Ash's mother looked over at Pikachu, who still laid motionless on Bayleef's back. He hadn't moved at all and it doesn't look like he'll move any time soon without attention.

Mrs. Ketchum looked back over at her son.

"Alright, Ash. I'll see what I can do," she said while picking up Pikachu off of Bayleef. "Mr. Mime!"

Mr. Mime came over as soon as his name was called.

Ash's mother handed Pikachu over to Mr. Mime and whispered some things in his ear. Mr. Mime nodded as soon as everything was told and he walked off, doing whatever it was that needed to be done.

"Where's Mr. Mime take him?" asked Ash.

His mother turned and smiled at him.

"Don't worry, honey. Lately, Mr. Mime has been practicing using the move Recover on not only himself, but on others as well," explained Mrs. Ketchum. "I just told him to get some ice and try to heal Pikachu as much as possible."

This shocked Ash in a way.

"Wow, Mom. You kinda sound like a trainer now," complemented Ash.

His mother smiled again.

"Why thank you, sweetie."

Then, Ash remembered that there was another person in the building.

"Wait. . .where's James?" asked Ash.

"Oh, he's just sleeping right now. He ate a lot of food and had to hop around just to pick something up, so I let him rest in your room," she said.

Ash didn't like the fact that one of their enemies was sleeping in his old room, but at least he wasn't in the way making trouble.

Xander walked back over to his father's side and pulled on his fur. Ash looked down at Xander. He must want to be held.

Ash sighed and picked up his son. Xander smiled again and cuddled on Ash's chest, right where all of the warmth was.

Ash's mom watched the whole thing and "Aw"ed as the baby Pichu cuddled with his father. Ash sighed again.

"So, Ash, since we're here for awhile; what happened to your Pikachu?" asked Ash's mother.

"Oh. Well," started Ash. "Pikachu was trying to each me some moves that I could use. We were doing a small race with each other when we saw a Lucario."

As soon as Ash had said the word "Lucario", his mother's eyes popped wide open.

"Wha-what did you say?" she asked.

Ash was confused at how his mom reacted, but then recalled what the Lucario told him.

"_Tell her that. . .I-I'm so sorry."_

Obviously, Ash's mother knew something about this Lucario. Maybe she can finally tell him!

"A Lucario, Mom," said Ash. "We followed him into the forest, and then was attacked by Team Magma."

"What happened then?" asked his mother, still looking shocked by every word spoken.

Ash continued.

"Team Magma almost beat us. They had me under a net and Pikachu was already knocked out, and then that same Lucario came and saved us. He took them all single handedly!" said Ash. "And then, when Team Magma ran away. . .the Lucario said something to me. . ."

"What?" Delia breathed. "What did he say?"

Ash looked into his mother's eyes.

"He mentioned your name. . .he told me to tell you that. . .he was sorry."

Mrs. Ketchum looked shocked. She stubbled backwards a bit, but then regained her balance as she caught hold on the arm of a couch.

Still dazed and in shock, she walked over to the front of the couch and sat down. Ash and Bayleef (who had been listening to everything this whole time) walked over to the front of the couch as well, but didn't sit down.

Ash placed Xander back down on the ground, letting his son sit down.

"Mom," said Ash. "Who is that Lucario?"

It took his mother a couple of moments to finally speak, but when she spoke she looked at Ash straight in the eye.

"Ash, remember how you just said that I sounded like a trainer with Mr. Mime?" asked his mother.

"Yes."

"Well," she continued. "To be honest, when I was young, I used to be a trainer too."

Now, Ash was shocked.

"You were?" he asked, astounded.

Mrs. Ketchum smiled and nodded.

"Mm, hm. I used to be very good when I was young," she daydreamed. "Anyway, you see, when I first became a trainer, I started late. I was around 15 at the time. So, I was supposed to get one of the starter Pokémon, just like you, sweetie, but also like you I got a different Pokémon to start with."

"Lucario?" asked Ash.

His mother nodded and smiled again.

"It was odd how we met. I was on my way over to the lab to choose one of the three starter Pokémon when I was attacked by a large man in black."

"Who was he?" asked Ash.

Delia shrugged her shoulders.

"I never found out, but he kept shouting at me to give my Pokémon along with any money I had. I told him that I didn't have either one, but he didn't believe me and threatened to hurt me. I tried to run away, but the man had called out his own Pokémon, a. . .Rhydon, as I recall."

"Then what happened?"

"Then. . ." started Delia. "Then, Lucario saved me."

"What?" asked Ash.

Mrs. Ketchum giggled a bit, then turned back to her son.

"Lucario save me from that man, right before his Rhydon attacked me," explained Mrs. Ketchum. "If it wasn't for Lucario, I might not be sitting right here."

Lucario saved his mother?! Then turned out to be her starting Pokémon? That must be how he knew her name!

"But, where did Lucario come from?" asked Ash.

Another shrug from his mother.

"I don't know. The day he saved me, I remember him dashing out of a forest me and the man were next to, but whenever I asked where he was from he never wanted to talk about it," she explained.

"So, how did he become your starter Pokémon?" asked Ash.

Mrs. Ketchum leaned back on the counch, trying to recall as many details as possible. Bayleef went ahead and sat down on the ground herself as she listened.

"Well, after he fought off that man and saved my life, I asked Lucario if he would like to stay with me, to go with me on the adventure that I had dreamed of going. I remember that at first, he wasn't sure, but soon after he agreed."

"You mean, you never captured him? Like in a Poké Ball?" asked Ash, surprised again.

Delia smiled.

"I didn't need to. Just like how you kept your Pikachu out of his Poké Ball, I let Lucario walk around all he wanted. All of the other Pokémon that I caught where in Poké Balls," she said.

Mrs. Ketchum smiled again, daydreaming her sweet memories.

"We went everywhere! Together, we fought battles like none other and became as one, trainer and Pokémon. Of course, we lost every now and then, but we would learn from our mistakes and keep moving."

Mrs. Ketchum closed her eyes.

"Ah, I remember how Lucario would train. He would always go one-hundred and ten percent! Many times, I had to make him stop just so he could rest because he wouldn't let himself stop."

She giggled at the memory.

"We were such good friends back then."

She sat back up and looked at Ash.

"Every time," she started. "Every single time I see you with one of your Pokémon, Ash. . .it reminds me so much of me and my Lucario."

Ash looked over at his Bayleef. She turned towards him and smiled. Perhaps that is where Ash got it, the ability to gain such good friends, from his own mother.

Ash looked back over at his mother and sat on the couch next to her.

"What happened to him?" he asked.

Mrs. Ketchum sighed. It wasn't a relaxed sigh or an annoyed sigh, but a sigh of sadness. It was as if this wasn't the first time she had thought about this.

"I don't know, Ash," his mother said.

"You don't know?" asked Ash, confused. "What do you mean?"

Delia starred Ash down with a look of pure seriousness.

"I. Don't. Know," she repeated.

Ash was taken aback from how his mother acted. She had never given him such a look before.

"I-I'm sorry, Mom," he said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

His mother sighed again and laid back on the couch.

"It's okay, sweetie," she said. "It's just. . ."

She sat back up and looked at her son.

"One day, while we were walking over to the next town, Lucario said that he was going to get something for me and ran off into a forest off of the road. I waited patiently for him to come back. . .but he never did. That was the last time I saw him," she said.

Delia looked away from her son. She dazed off in the distance, as if looking at something else that wasn't there.

"I looked everywhere for him. For days I searched for him. I made all of the Pokémon that I had with me try to find him. . .but we never did. However, something good did come out of it, I suppose."

"What?" asked Ash.

Ash's mother smiled at him.

"That's how I met your father," she said.

Once again, Ash was shocked.

"M-my dad?" he said.

His mom nodded.

"It was while I was looking for Lucario that I met your father. He asked what I was doing and I told him that I was looking for my old friend, and he offered to help me look for him," said Delia. "But, even with his help, we still never found my Lucario, but I ended up meeting your father and soon having you."

"And just to have him abandon us?" snapped Ash.

Delia was quiet now. She recalled it better than Ash could, for she was the one that told him the story of it all.

Delia looked down to the floor, avoiding both Ash's and Bayleef's eyes.

"Well. . .yes, Ash," she said. "I try not to think of it that way, but it is true."

Just then, Mr. Mime came back. In his arms was Pikachu, still unconscious but without any injuries.

"Mime, mime!" said Mr. Mime as he handed Pikachu to Mrs. Ketchum.

She took Pikachu in her arms and thanked the psychic Pokémon. Mr. Mime bowed, then left the room.

Mrs. Ketchum examined Pikachu in her arms.

"He looks okay right now. He should wake up at anytime," she said.

Mrs. Ketchum got up to her feet, holding Pikachu, and laid Pikachu down where she sat.

Ash crawled over to Pikachu's side to check him himself. He did look a whole lot better compared to before.

Ash heard a click, and quickly turned towards where he heard it. It was his mom opening the front door and it looked as if she was leaving.

"Mom?" said Ash, confused again. "Where are you going?"

Delia faced outside of the house. Her hand rested on the door nob of the door. She turned her head to face Ash, but didn't turn her body.

"If you did see Lucario. . .my Lucario. . .then I have to go look for him," she said.

"What?" said Ash. "But, Mom! What about Xander? What about James?"

Now, Mrs. Ketchum turned her body to face her son, but kept the door open.

"You're a father now, Ash," she said to him. "You have to take the responsibilities of baring a child, and I know you can do it. As for James, I'm not too worried about him."

She looked back out of the door to the outside.

"I just have to look for him. I need to find out if he is here!" Delia stated promptly.

"But Mo—"

"Honey," she said, facing Ash again and cutting him off. "He is my best friend. He is the Pokémon that changed my life. I know you would've done the same for your Pikachu."

Ash was about to protest again, but stopped. He looked back over at his own best friend, Pikachu, who laid still on the couch.

Yes, Ash would've done the same. He would do anything for his best friend.

Mrs. Ketchum saw that her son understood by the emotion on his face. She smiled again at him.

"Don't worry. I know you can do anything if you put your mind to it, Ash," she encouraged him. "I just need to do this for myself."

Delia took a deep breath.

"Ten years. . .It's been ten whole years since we've last seen each other."

And with that, Mrs. Ketchum walked out of the house and closed the door.

Ash stood there on the couch, pondering what he had just heard.

All of this did explain how that Lucario knew Delia's name and this might've explained why he said he was sorry. . .but there was still one question that loomed in the back of Ash mind. How does Ash know him? How is it, that even when this Lucario disappeared before he was even born, Ash kept having a felling that he knew him or that he's seen him before?

Ash fell back to his bottom. He shouldn't have to worry about this right now, he's got more important things to worry about. Both Mistys are in Team Aqua's HQ being held hostage, Team Magma are somewhere around here and that's never a good sign, May will be killed if they don't destroy Team Aqua, and the police are looking for them everywhere.

Ash signed. So much to do alone.

He turned around and faced Bayleef.

"Thanks for helping, Bayleef," Ash said, remembering his manners.

Bayleef looked up at him. She had an odd expression on her face. It almost looked like she was disappointed about something. That or she was sad about something. . . or both. Maybe the story she had just heard had an impact on her?

It did to Ash.

Bayleef spoke.

"Y-y-you. . ." she started to say, having trouble speaking the words for some reason. "You have a. . .son?"

Just then, Xander climbed up on the couch and leaped into his father's arms. Ash caught hold on his son, worried that he could've fallen.

Then, he noticed what was wrong. He didn't want to tell Bayleef that Xander was his son just yet, but now she knew from listening to his conversation with his mom.

Ash held up Xander for Bayleef to see.

"Um. . .yes, Bayleef," he said. "This is my son, Xander."

Bayleef's mouth hung open, but her eyes still watered as she did.

"Ash. . ." she said. "H-how. . .could. . .?"

She never finished her sentence because she quickly turned around, lashed out her vines to open the door, and dashed outside.

Ash was left speachless.

**Finally! I'm sorry again that this took so long everyone. Honestly, I didn't even get to proof read this yet because I was so far behind, so I hope that ya'll still like it. Please tell me whether or not you do!**


	19. Chapter 19

Inner Strength part 19

"Bayleef!" Ash managed to shout out.

But she was already long gone by that time. Ash could see the Pokémon still trying to run out of sight from him.

"Wait, Bayleef! Please!" shouted out Ash again.

He needed to follow her, to try to explain how this all happened. But why would she be so mad? Why is she so upset? Was it because of his son?

Ash dashed out the door and outside, still holding his son in his arms. He had no time to think, but he definitely did not want to leave Xander alone with James. Pikachu, at least, has Mr. Mime with him, so he should be okay.

Pikachu! Ash had just about forgot about his own first Pokémon! Should he have left him there? Once again, there's Mr. Mime, but Ash just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen once again.

_Okay, first thing's first,_ thought Ash. _I'll go talk to Bayleef, hopefully get her to understand and find out hat was wrong with her, then I'll come back and check up on Pikachu._

Sounded like a plan, and it shouldn't take too long to speak to Bayleef.

Ash ran outside on his two feet, still carrying Xander. Once or twice, he almost tripped on his own feet, but quickly regained balance. After all, his Pikachu body was made to run with four legs, not two.

Ash could barely make out Bayleef and where she was. Of course, she was still a ways away from him, but she seemed to have stopped. Ash ran a bit faster so that he could save some time.

Soon, Ash was finally near Bayleef, who stood with her back turned on him and facing the river in front of her.

"Bayleef," Ash panted. _I guess I ran a little too much._ "Please. . .you gotta listen. . .to me."

Bayleef stayed quiet. Her head was held up with her back still turned to Ash.

"Bayleef, please. It's not my fault. We were just—"

"'Not your fault'?" repeated Bayleef.

She finally turned around and faced Ash.

"Right here, you say that you have a son. . .a blood related son. . .and all you can say is that it's 'not your fault'?" said Bayleef.

Bayleef's eyes began to water up again as she said those last words. She quickly closed her eyes to try to stop crying, but the tears still flowed through.

"Bayleef," said Ash again. "If you just let me explain—"

"No Ash!" Bayleef shouted out. "You've explained just about enough!"

She marched up to Ash, inclining her head so that her piercing, watery glare was the only thing Ash could see.

"How long has it been, Ash? Huh? How long have you known me? How long have you left me here while you went on your adventure with Pikachu?"

She spoke her words like they were trying to jab at Ash's stomach. To Ash, they were, and at times, he would try to back up so that the jabs could probably miss.

Bayleef kept talking, and every time Ash tried to back up, she just took another step towards him.

"How long has it been?! I thought we were close, Ash. I thought we had something happening between us. . .so. . .I waited."

Bayleef's eyes were now completely filled with water. She tried to shake them off, but they kept coming. She could not longer hold them in. . .she couldn't hold anything in now.

Finally, instead of jabbing another word at Ash, Bayleef sat down, her eyes still wet with tears.

"I waited for you, Ash! All this time. . .and finally, I find you. Not as a human, but now as a Pokémon! Do you know how much my heart jumped at that point? Do you know how excited I was?"

"Bayleef, please. I can explain—"

"Explain?!" Interrupted Bayleef. "I finally see you again as a Pokémon just to find out that you already had a kid! How do you explain that, you perv?"

"Bayleef, I—"

"You what, Ash? Couldn't keep it to yourself? Couldn't control yourself just for a bit longer? How long were you a Pikachu before you got that girl pregnant?"

Ash shifted his feet.

"Maybe a couple hours. . ."

"A couple hours?!" shouted Bayleef, obviously upset. "So you mean to tell me that after being a Pikachu for only a couple of hours, you decided to go ahead and make out with some random girl! Is that what you're telling me?!"

"No, Bayleef! It wasn't like—"

But Bayleef interrupted Ash again, ranting on and on at what a mistake he has done.

Ash looked down at his son in his arms. The little Pichu dug his head deep into Ash's yellow fur on his chest, covering his face. _Maybe he's trying to cover his ears from her. . . _Ash thought.

Then, it occurred to Ash. As he looked down at Xander (while Bayleef was still trying to shout his ears off) he noticed his and Xander's shadow was very long. They arced across the field, almost all the way to the other side of the river.

Ash quickly looked up at the sun. . .which was right. . .Where was the sun?

_Oh, no_, Ash thought.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?" Bayleef shouted.

Ash quickly turned to Bayleef, slowly backing up from the water in the river.

"Bayleef, we need to go," he said.

But Bayleef was still wanting to argue, she refused to move.

"Go? I'm talking to you, Ash, and you just want to go? Go where? Do you not like this place? Does it not bring back memories of how you betrayed me?" she said, mockingly.

"Um. . .uh. . ." Ash had to think of something quick to get Bayleef out of here. "Uh. . .Y-yes! That's it! This isn't the place to argue at, so lets go somewhere else. . .somewhere more. . .uh. . .peaceful?"

He meant for his last word to be a suggestion, but it came out more like a question.

Bayleef looked at Ash strangely, as if she knew that something was going on.

"Ash. . .what are you—?"

SPLASH!

Suddenly, jumping out of the water from the river next to them, was another one of the claws from before.

Just as soon as it jumped out of the water, the claw dived towards the closest person. . .Bayleef.

"Bay?!"

Bayleef tried to run away, but this claw moved fast and quickly caught hold and pulled Bayleef into the water.

"Bayleef! No!" shouted out Ash.

The claw raised Bayleef high into the air, then sunk her deep into the water. Just like that.

Ash quickly ran over to the water, looking for signs, looking for warnings, anything!

"Don't take her!" shouted Ash to the water. "It's me you want, not her! Take me!"

As if answering his call, Ash could make out another object shooting up to the surface fast. It was another claw! But this one was empty!

Before Ash even had to chance to flinch, the claw shot up, grabbed Ash's body, and dragged him down into the water. If it wasn't faster than the last one, then it still went just about as quick as dropping a sack of potatoes on the floor.

Down, down, down, down. . .

Ash's vision blurred as both the speed and the water messed up his eyes, making it hard for him to see.

Down, down, down, down. . .

Ash looked down into his arms. Xander was still cradled in them, but the little guy was squirming for his life, blowing out all of his air into pockets of bubbles. The little Pichu was frightened by what was going on.

_He'll drown himself! _Thought Ash. He quickly pushed a paw over Xander's mouth to try to force him to hold in the last few air he might have. But Xander wanted to move, he wanted to get out of this place were he was unable to breathe and wiggled and squirmed with all his might, crying out all of his air and tears.

Even through all of this, Ash knew he couldn't let go of his son. Probably if he did, his son might float up for a little bit, then maybe drown himself because he hasn't learned how to swim yet. Even if Xander did know how to swim, the claw that now held them both and was pulling them ever closer to Team Aqua, held on so tight to Ash's arms that he was hardly able to move them.

Ash just had to hope and pray that Xander would live until they reached Team Aqua's HQ.

Down, down, down, down. . .

Ash could see different landmasses under the water. If he had something to give him air and was not being dragged down to his doom, then he probably would've loved the scenery around him.

Down, down, down, down. . .

Xander still wont stop squirming and crying out noiseless sound. Ash tried to press his paw a little harder over his Pichu's mouth, once again to try to conserve the oxygen left in him. Ash himself was having trouble keeping his air. . .or trying to live a bit longer with it. Was the claw moving slower than before? . . .Or was their minds just going slower because death was right around the corner?

Down, down, down, down, down. . .

Finally, Ash could make out Team Aqua's base. It looked exactly as it did before, but this time two very small holes were opened. One hole was for the claw that continued to drag Ash and his son down into, and the other seemed to also have a claw coming from it. Ash could see the end of the other claw was almost fully in the base, but before it did go into its hole, Ash saw the someone from before that was taken.

Bayleef.

Instinctively, Ash tried to shout out her name, but all that came out were big sacks of air bubbles. He quickly stopped after realizing what he was doing to himself so he could conserve the last bit of air in him.

Ash himself wasn't feeling to good. Even though he had his breath held in this whole time, his lungs ached for new air. Ash's head began to feel light and his vision was coming out of focus.

No! He had to keep going! _Try to fight it_, Ash told himself.

_Or try to time it._

A new voice? _Time what? _Thought Ash, trying to speak to this new voice.

_Your exhaling. Release some of your Carbon Dioxide, otherwise it will get to the brain and ruin your body._

Without thinking, Ash let out a small breath, making more air bubbles come out. Sure enough, Ash's head started to feel a bit better, but his lungs still begged to have more air.

_Now what? _Thought Ash.

But there was no answer.

What was that? The voice sounded similar, but Ash couldn't tell whose it belonged to. _Was it someone else that could talk to me telepathically?_ _If it was, then who?_

However, Ash didn't have time to figure it out.

Team Aqua's base was right in front of him with the claw still dragging him in. The hole that produced the claw grew bigger in size, allowing the two passengers in.

Ash could no longer see Bayleef. She must've already gotten in the base. . .and he was next.

The hole swallowed Ash in, then quickly closed up as the claw entered with its prey. The claw continued to move backwards until Ash could feel a hard bump coming from it, then it stopped.

Ash was still in the water, though. The room that he was in was completely dark. Ash had trouble figuring out whether his eyes were opened or closed.

Then, two light bulbs, small but with light, turned on in the room. Ash could feel something sucking down at him, but that when he realized that the water in the room was being drained out.

In a matter of seconds, the entire room was emptied of water.

Without warning, the claw released its grip, making Ash to fall straight down onto the cold, metal floor. As Ash fell, he tried to turn to his back, that way not to hurt his son that was still in his arms.

PLOP! Ash's small body hit the floor, the sound echoing throughout the entire room, making it an eerie noise.

He got up, coughing out the water that managed to get in his tube, and took some good, long, deep breaths, filling his lungs with the air that they begged for.

Ash got up and looked around the room, using the only two lights he had. Everything was metal, the walls were completely made out of it as much as the floor was. The room was very large, but didn't have many objects in it.

There was one object in the room. It was the claw and whatever shot it out. The machine was right in front of Ash (after all, he hadn't moved from where he was dropped) and almost resembled a giant ray-gun that one would see in the movies, just with a large, three pieced claw at the end.

At looking at the large mechanism made it hard for Ash to believe that this scary device is what allowed him to come here. By mere habit, Ash held his son tighter in his arms, wanting to protect—

Ash's Pikachu hands only curled up and hugged nothing but air. Xander was not in his arms.

Where was his son?

Ash looked down. . .and there he was. The small Pichu was limp on the ground, inert and not moving.

"Xander!" shouted out Ash.

He ran over to his son's side. Xander's chest wasn't moving. He must've used up all of his air in the water! Ash placed both of his paws over his son's chest and pushed down hard on it.

Nothing.

Again, Ash pushed down on Xander's chest, just a bit harder this time.

Now, water squirted out of the little Pichu's mouth. Finally Ash's son came to and began to cough out the water. Ash sighed in relief as he watched his son breathe again.

"Oh thank goodness," breathed Ash.

As Xander was coughing, he started to cry too. Ash didn't care, though. He was just glad that his son was alive and breathing, even if it was crying.

Ash picked up his son and cradled him in his arms, trying to calm Xander down.

"There, there. . .It's alright. I'm here, Xan. I'm here."

After a couple moments, Xander started to calm down finally and stopped his crying.

THUD. Both the son and the father turned towards wherever the noise came from. Ash tried to use the little bit of light that he had to see what made the noise, but all he could see was some green mass laying on the ground. . .

"Bayleef?" wondered Ash out loud.

The mass still didn't move.

"Bayleef!" shouted out Ash, trying to get her attention.

Still, the mass would not nudge.

Ash ran over to his Bayleef, still holding onto his son.

As Ash came closer, he could make out another machine that shot out one of the claws. This claw was open, so it must've dropped Bayleef down to the floor just like how the other claw did with Ash and Xander.

Ash ran over to Bayleef's side and placed Xander on the floor next to her.

"Bayleef!" Ash shouted in front of his Pokémon.

But Bayleef was out. She would not move and she would not breathe, just like how Xander was.

Ash got down and pushed Bayleef over to her back, exposing her belly and chest. From there, Ash did that same thing he did to Xander as he did to Bayleef: pressed on her stomach in hope that some water will be pushed out.

It only took one hard push for Bayleef to have water suddenly squirting out of her mouth. She came to and began coughing out the rest of the water, too.

"Bay. . .bay. . ." She coughed a bit more, then tried to breathe in as mush air as he could, saving each breath.

"Bayleef! Are you okay?" asked Ash, concerned.

Bayleef gasped a few more breaths, then nodded towards him.

"Are you sure? Are you hurt at all? Anything?"

Bayleef nodded again, motioning that she was okay.

She turned her head down a bit, trying to breathe a bit slower, and caught her eye on Xander standing next to her.

"Bay bayleef bay bayleef?" asked Bayleef.

Ash looked over at Xander.

"Well, I didn't mean to bring him. That claw thing took us both in," explained Ash.

Bayleef didn't leave her eyes from the little Pichu.

"Bay..."

She looked around the large room. Ash could see in her eyes that she could also feel the danger and uneasiness.

"Bay...Bayleef bay bayleef leef," She slowly shook her head. "Bayleef leef bay bayleef!"

"I know!" said Ash. "I told you I didn't want to bring him here. I know this place isn't safe at all, but I do have to be here."

"Bay?"

"Because I have some friends to help in this place. . .They need my help."

Bayleef looked down at the floor for a second, pondering what to do. She didn't want her Ash to go get himself hurt again. She wants to be by his side again, just like the good old times. . .but with this child. . .his child. . .she doesn't want such an innocent youth get hurt.

Which brought up another question.

"Ash," Bayleef said in her Pokémon tung. "Who are these 'friends' that you're trying to help?"

Ash knew where she was headed.

"Um. . .well, it's two of my friends. . ."

"Who?" asked Bayleef again.

She leaned her head closer to Ash, starring closely with her devastating glare.

"Is it that Pikachu that you mated with, by chance?" she asked, not leaving her eyes from Ash.

Ash took a step back. It was true that Misty II was here, but he was afraid to say that in front of Bayleef.

"Uh. . .um. . ."

Then, Ash thought of it. It was the truth, so it would work.

"They have Misty, Bayleef," said Ash.

Bayleef was expecting a different answer, so she was already ready to argue, but after hearing that, her mouth stopped. She looked at Ash differently. . .almost understandingly.

"Ash. . .let me help," she pleaded.

Ash looked at her eyes. . .but then had to refuse.

"I'm sorry, Bayleef. I can't let you. Not here."

Bayleef was silent for only a bit, then spoke again.

"Ash, I may not know what's going on here, but I know I can help you. Please let me help you, Ash. I want to be with you."

Ash couldn't take her eyes, so he looked away.

"I'm sorry, Bayleef. I just don't want you to get hurt—"

There was a loud BANG and a bright light came out of some two doors on the other side of the room. As Ash's eyes adjusted to the light, he could make out three men in blue uniforms.

"Team Aqua," said Ash. "Bayleef, quick! Go hide!"

Ash quickly grabbed Xander as he and Bayleef ran behind one of the claw machines, away from Team Aqua's eyes.

"Well, where is it?" shouted one of the men, making his loud voice boom across the room. "We were told that 102 was here, but I don't see him!"

"Shut up! Might as well hold up a sign telling about what we're gonna do!" argued another man.

"Shut up both of you!" said the last. "Just hurry up and find it. It's gotta be around here somewhere, the only exit is this door, so it couldn't have gotten away."

The three men began to walk around the room, searching their eyes everywhere.

As turned his head over to Bayleef.

"Alright, Bayleef. You and Xan need to get out of here while I go get my friends," whispered Ash.

"But how are we supposed to get out of here?" asked Bayleef.

Ash thought about it, then made a quick peak at the three men and the open door. As a small plan came to his head, he turned back to Bayleef.

"Those men said that door is the only way out of this room," started Ash. "I'll go and distract then, because I'm who they're after. While they're—"

"—But Ash—"

"While they're," continued Ash. "Distracted, I want you to take my son, Xan, and go through that door and find a way out of here."

"How? And what about you?" asked Bayleef.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me," said Ash. "I don't know how to get out of here, but you'll have a chance to find a way if you get out of this room."

"But. . .Ash. . ."

"Just go! I'll meet up with you later, I promise," said Ash.

Bayleef looked as if she was about to protest some more, but knew that it was useless and just nodded her head.

"Alright. . .But I just want to tell you something before we do this," she said.

"Go ahead," said Ash.

Bayleef inclined her head over to Ash's.

"I'm sorry about what I said before, Ash," she started. "I don't know what happened, but I'm sure you had your reasons for whatever happened. . .and I know that you still care for me just like before."

Ash looked up at her and smiled.

"It's okay, Bayleef," he said.

He raised a paw and gently petted Bayleef's head just as he had done before. Bayleef closed her eyes and rubbed her head against his paw, then leaned forward a bit and rubbed against his cheek. Ash smiled again. . .but had to gently push her away.

"I have to go now," said Ash. Bayleef opened back her eyes and looked at him. "When every single one of those guys have their attention on only me, then and only then is when I want you to take Xan and run out that door and find a way out of here, got it?"

Bayleef nodded her head solemnly and turned towards Xander. The little Pichu was still sitting on the floor, so Bayleef just picked him up with her vines and laid him on her back, then wrapped her vines around the Pichu's body and around her belly so he wouldn't be able to fall off easily.

"It's not over here!" shouted one of them men.

"Not over here, either!" shouted another.

"Did you check behind there?"

"No, not yet."

"Then go!"

When Bayleef was done securing his son, Ash took a deep breath. . .and ran out into the middle of the large room, completely exposing himself to the three men looking for him.

"Look! I see it!" shouted one of them men Ash ran by.

Like wildfire, the other two men heard the call and ran over, already pulling out their individual Poké balls.

Ash stopped his running and got in his stance, ready to fight off whatever he can. The three men circled around him, trying to trap him.

Ash immediately lunged out to the one that saw him first, swiping his claw across the man's face. The man shouted in pain and covered his face from the red scratches that now bore upon his face. Ash jumped off of the man just as he jumped off of the tree when racing with Pikachu and got ready to lung again at the next person.

"Lue! No!" called out the man to Ash's left.

"Alright, you wanna fight, do ya?" challenged the one on Ash's right. "Go, Tentacruel!"

From the Poké ball that was already ready in the Team Aqua man's hand, came out a large Tentacruel when the man released it. The Tentacruel towered over Ash, looking down at him with it's large, menacing eyes. Its tentacles raised up right over Ash, ready to wrap around his small, yellow body whenever it needed to.

The Team Aqua man on Ash's left saw this motion of his comrade and threw out his own Poké ball, releasing his Pokémon.

"Go, Blastoise!"

The white light was released and was formed into a tall, big Blastoise, already aiming its pumps on its shell at Ash.

The Team Aqua member that was scratched by Ash quickly recovered, but also was quickly maddened by his injury. He reached back on his belt and threw out his own Pokémon, releasing it to the field.

"Come on, Croconaw!"

This one, maybe not as big as Tentacruel, was as large and wide as the Blastoise. Its large mouth snapped at Ash, trying to bring up his fear as it was released.

_Man. . .three to one. This can't be good. _Thought Ash. _And they're all water types too. This would be the perfect time to use some electric moves. . .if only if I knew how to use them!_

Ash took another quick look at his enemies, then his eyes saw a large, green mass quickly moving on the far other side of the room.

_There you go, Bayleef. Just run and keep on running! _Thought Ash to himself. _And. . .take good care of my son._

"Croconaw, use Water Gun!"

"Here we go," muttered Ash.

Croconaw opened its mouth wide and released a large shot of hurricane-powered water straight towards Ash. Ash dived over to the side, dodging the attack, but then was hit head-on when the Croconaw re-shot its attack as soon as Ash regained his stance.

Ash was pushed back to the wall behind him, as fast as a bullet piercing air. However, right before Ash's Pikachu body hit the wall, he was able to flip over to were his feet would make contact. Sure enough, the Water Gun pushed Ash straight into the wall, but with his feet planted in it. From there and when the Croconaw stopped its attack, Ash leaped off of the wall and towards his opponent.

Ash whipped around his tail, making it glow while in midair, and slammed it across Croconaw's face. The crock's head swung back and made its body stagger backward. Ash landed back on the floor, already in his stance and preparing to attack again.

The other two Team Aqua members shouted out orders for their own Pokémon. Their voices seemed to be distant from Ash. It was almost hard for him to understand them. His mind was fully on the three Pokémon he had to fight. Everything else seemed secondary.

The Blastoise aimed its pumps at Ash and began to fire multiple blast of water towards Ash's direction. Ash rolled over to dodge some of the blast, but was quickly grabbed and picked up by the Tentacruel, its tentacles wrapping tightly around his small body.

Tentacruel wrapped another tentacle around Ash's body and squeezed with all of its might. Ash grinded his teeth together in an attempt to fight off the pain. . .maybe even to try to ignore it, but the tension from the Wrap was too much for him. He shouted out in agony, then dug his teeth deep into the tentacle closest to his head. Tentacruel made a loud groan in pain and released Ash back down to the floor.

Ash fell like a rock back down to the ground, landing on his back. He groaned once more. . .then quickly had to roll over to his stomach as the large Blastoise jumped into the air, exposing its stomach, and landed hard on the ground from a heavy Body Slam. Ash's whole body bounced upward when the heavy Blastoise fell to the ground.

Again, Ash could tell that the other trainers were shouting out more orders, but they were distant. The Croconaw lunged over while Ash was still down with its mouth wide open. Ash got to his feet and ran over to the side. Croconaw missed its Bite attack, so Ash stopped running and used his momentum for a Quick Attack right at its side. His head slammed into Croconaw's side, digging deeply, making the Pokémon wheeze out some air and fall to its hip.

Quickly, Ash leaped away from the Croconaw and the other Pokémon, trying to think of what else to do. The Croconaw slowly got back up to its feet, grinding its teeth through the pain, but was still wanting to keep fighting.

"Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"

"Tentacruel, use Screech!"

"Croconaw, you use Hydro Pump also!"

This time, Ash's mind finally paid attention to the orders his opponents' trainers were calling out. All three of them shouted an order at the same time to their individual Pokémon.

It was going to be a big, all-out attack aimed directly at Ash.

First came the Screech from Tentacruel. The high pitch noise played around the entire room, bouncing off of the metal walls and straight towards Ash's two yellow, furry ears. He cried out in pain from such a sound, but he couldn't even hear his own voice through the Screech. Even each of his opponents had to cover their own ears to try to stay focused.

Ash couldn't take the sound. He was still getting used to being a Pikachu, and in being a Pikachu came the curse of having an incredible ability to hear extremely well. The three humans in front of him had to only cover their ears and the sound was already half-way gone. The three Pokémon, not having as good of the hearing sense as a Pikachu, also only had to cover their ears.

But Ash's ear couldn't take it. He just wasn't used to it and neither was his new body and mind. His vision went crazy, every movement was exaggerated to were every thing moved even when it didn't. His mind became dizzy and confused. He had trouble standing up straight.

The noise stopped. . .but the ringing in Ash's ears didn't.

Ash still had trouble standing and seeing. He could make out two bright blue lights appearing, but couldn't see what they were or even where they were.

The ringing in Ash's ears continued. The two blue lights quickly covered the little vision he had and quickly he could feel his whole body being in pain and being pushed backwards.

Ash was slammed again to the wall, making his small body rigid. Both of the Hydro Pumps stopped and Ash was just starting to regain his vision again along with his focus.

"Croconaw, lets use Bite one last time!"

Croconaw was already ahead of its trainer, sprinting over to the wall that Ash was forced upon. Ash had barely enough time to reach up his paws to stop the attack.

Croconaw bit down hard on Ash, but his paws got in the way of its mouth. One paw held onto the upper jaw while the other paw held onto the lower. Both were extremely strong jaw parts and clamped down hard against Ash's strength.

The Bite was aimed towards Ash's head, and though Ash's tried to push back, the Croconaw's large mouth was slowly creeping closer and closer. Its teeth sunk deep into Ash's paws that he used to try to keep them away.

Closer and closer the jaw came. Already, now with his vision back, Ash could see inside Croconaw's mouth and even a bit inside its esophagus.

He tried to push back harder. Ash tried to push away the mouth, but the strength of its jaw was too much for his small paws. . .his small, bleeding paws. Ash could see his paws trickling with some blood as the teeth just sunk in more and more every time he pushed away.

The jaw now covered Ash's entire head, but didn't clamp down yet. One tooth, one long, curved tooth came dangerously close to Ash's forehead. The tooth came very close to the microchip in Ash's forehead.

The tooth, unknowingly to the Croconaw, slowly pressed down on the small button.

Then, right inside Croconaw's mouth, formed a bright orange ball. The ball started to grow bigger and bigger until it completely filled Croconaw's mouth.

Then, the orange ball of inner strength shot out into a long line of pure energy, pushing Croconaw away from Ash.

Ash wasn't able to see what happened after that. Just like every other time he used his inner strength, he began to feel extremely weak and tired.

His vision blackened as he feinted into a deep sleep.

* * *

James woke up from his small nap. Even though his arms were still tied up, it did feel good to finally sleep on a nice, warm, soft bed again.

James sat up on the bed, yawned a bit, then did a small stretch with his legs.

He looked around himself. This was supposed to be nemesis's, the twerp's, room. It was a bit clean, probably because of the twerp's mother cleaning it after him being gone for so long. There were Pokémon toys just about everywhere he looked, except for a Weezing. There was a small television in front of the bed where he sat, a small lamp table, a desk with a journal on top, a chair, an alarm clock next to the lamp in the shape of a Pokémon, and posters of all kinds of different famous Pokémon battles that were usually only shown on TV.

Bored, James stretched again and got out of bed. His eyes went to the desk and (once again) out of boredom, sat on the chair and scooted closer.

On the desk was the journal that read "Ash's Journal". Curiosity and revenge filled up James' mind as he quickly opened the journal to the first page, hoping to find something embarrassing to say in front of the twerp when their next visit should come. It was difficult to open the book, but he was still able to use his hands, though tied together, to open the book.

"This is odd. . ." he said to himself.

The first page to the twerp's journal didn't have any words at all on it. Instead, it was completely filled with numbers and random, complex equations. Long division covered just about half of the single page and equations that not even James could read or understand filled the rest.

_What is this? _Thought James. _The twerp's homework? But no, it can't be a kid's homework. This math is years ahead of what the twerp could've ever have learned even at the age he is in now!_

James flipped to the next page. Again there was more equations, if not even more complex than the page before. However, this page actually had a few words on it. James could read the words "Inner Strength" and "Human Capacity". There was one equation that went "I 2(3.14r) x Energy(Mass) + HC".

After reading some words that he could make out, James guessed that the letters "HC" stood for "Human Capacity". 3.14 was pi, so that must've meant that "r" stood for "radius". But then the radius of what? What is this equation for? What did the letter "I" stand for?

Then were was another equation that stood out to James: "L-DNA + H-DNA LH?"

A question mark? What could that mean? Does it mean that the equation is a guess? That whoever wrote this was unsure of what it could equal?

There were a couple other words that were readable, like "Aura" and "Telepathic" and "Energy Potential", but James didn't pay them much attention and flipped the page again to the next one.

Finally, this page actually had words in it, no numbers at all! James read the page, glad that he could read something.

He read everything word, by word.

". . .N-no. . ."

Could it be true?

"I-it's. . .it's not. . .no. . ."

James flipped the page again, reading it over and over.

"Oh wow. . .but. . .this can't be. . ."

James read more and more of the journal, reading in disbelief by every page. Every now and then, there would be a normal page that described a normal day for the twerp, but most of the journal made James completely awestruck.

"Uh. . .um. . .Miss?" He called out from the twerp's room. "Miss Delia? Hello? Ma'am?"

James looked around him. He didn't hear any calls anywhere, no sounds, no voices, nothing.

James closed the journal and tucked it in his shirt the best he could with tied-up hands. When he was sure that the journal couldn't possibly fall out, James ran out of Ash's room and into the living room.

"Hello? Ms. Delia?" James called.

But no one was there. The house was completely empty.

Except for one Mr. Mime, though. The psychic Pokémon was handling a broom stick, sweeping the floor. He must've been ignoring James since he hadn't been calling him this whole time.

"Um. . .Mr. Mime?" asked James.

Now, Mr. Mime stopped what he was doing and looked up at James.

"Where is Delia? Where is everybody?" asked James.

Mr. Mime paused for a second, pondering, then pointed out the door.

"She went outside?" guessed James.

"Mime, mime," said Mr. Mime.

"Where outside?"

Now, Mr. Mime just shrugged.

James ran over to the door, took a while trying to turn the knob with his tied hands, and walked outside. However, as soon as he saw the amount of police officers around the front, James quickly went back inside and closed the door and re-locked it.

He needs to find a way out of here. Now since no one is here to watch him, James can finally escape. But, he didn't really want to escape, he just wants to show this journal to someone.

"Oh, I miss Jessie and Meowth right now," James thought to himself out loud.

He turned around and headed to the back door of the house, hoping that he could avoid the police by going behind them.

The journal still tucked in his shirt, James opened the back door and closed it behind him as he walked outside. There was some tall grass there in the back yard, so James crouched low and hid in the grass.

A bit off in the distance, there were a couple of bushes near a small forest. James walked over to the bushes, still couched down low. He turned around real quick to check if the coast was still clear.

Suddenly, right out of the bushes behind him, came a pair of hands that grabbed James' head and mouth and pulled his whole body into the bush.

James squirmed and wiggled, trying to get away from the hands that pulled him away.

"Stop squirming! Be quiet or someone will hear us!"

James just kept moving and kept trying to force his way out. . .until a strong and familiar slap came over his cheek.

That's when James stopped squirming and looked at who pulled him through the bushes.

"Jessie?" he asked.

"Shut up! They'll hear us!" softly argued Jessie. "Meowth, get a knife!"

"Hold on! I'm comin!" said the all familiar Meowth, holding a small pocket knife.

Meowth walked over to James' arms and cut the ropes loose. After the ropes were gone, Meowth folded back up the pocket knife and gave it to Jessie, who took the knife and placed it in her pocket.

"Come on, James. Lets get out of here before those cops see us!" said Jessie, already tugging on James' shirt.

"Wait, Jessie! I have to show you something," said James, pulling away.

"Can't it wait, James?" argued Jessie. "Just look behind you! We have to go now!"

"But Jessie!" argued back James. "I know how to defeat Team Aqua!"

* * *

Ash was awoken by two pairs of ruff hands violently shaking his body. Ash opened his eyes slowly. For some reason it was surprisingly hard to simply open his eyes.

"Feels different, doesn't it?"

Ash knew that voice.

"Bob."

He leaned his head up, noticing that doing that was also hard. It was like trying to lift a thousand pound metal bar with only his neck.

When Ash was finally able to lift his head all the way, he was able to look around himself. Two men, dressed in Team Aqua's usual uniform, held him up off the ground. The room he was in was not The Room and neither was it the room with the claws in it. This room was very long, but not as wide, almost like a hallway. There were a couple monitors hanging on the walls and metal stations with buttons and switches all over them.

And there was a very large, blue, cylinder container in the very middle of the wall to Ash's left. It seemed that half of the container was actually inside of the wall, because Ash could only see half of it out of the wall from the angle he was in.

There were robotic arms all across the walls and ceiling. Some arms had robotic hands while others just had needles or other things that were meant to inject.

"It's been three times since you've used it, hasn't it?"

Ash strained his head to move up to look at his enemy, Bob, who stood before him.

"And every single time you have used it, you have seen the awesome power that it contains," said Bob to Ash.

Ash kept quiet, both because his jaw felt like a ton to move and because he didn't want to talk to Bob.

"You can feel it, can you not?" asked Bob. "The after effects of using your Inner Strength?"

Ash tried to pull away from the two pairs of hands that held him, but even the weight of his own arms were too much for him to lift.

Bob leaned in closer to Ash, looking at him straight in the eye.

"Your whole body feels heavy, doesn't it? You feel weak and tired, it's harder to think about something, simply breathing makes you exhausted. Isn't this what you are feeling right now?" asked Bob.

Ash didn't answer. He stayed quiet and continued to try to breathe.

Bob smiled and turned around. He walked over to a control panel underneath one of the many monitors in the room.

"You see," he started. "Inner Strength wasn't naturally meant to be used. Its only purpose is to supply the body with energy, emotion, and basic thought. It has more of a purpose than that, of course, but you couldn't possibly understand it because of its complexity."

Bob talked as he pressed buttons and flipped switches on the panel. He didn't look at Ash, but only at the panel he was working on.

"It's not a cell, it's not from an organ, it's not a virus, but it is essential for any able body. It is the life source for every life on Earth. Everyone has one," explained Bob.

Bob pressed one more button. A small, robotic arm bent down in front of Bob and Ash. The arm had a large needle at the end of it with three long tubes filling it with some liquid that Ash could not see.

"Without Inner Strength, the body will eventually die. Yes, it might live for a while, but only for so long," said Bob, turning towards the arm. "If the body is somehow without any Inner Strength at all, then it will have absolutely no strength, no thoughts, and no emotions. It wont even be able to simply sit up. The body will ignore all demands from the digestive system, neurotic system, and sometimes even the hormone system. But, it will not feel any pain, any starvation, any knowing what is going on, nothing."

Bob stepped closer to the arm. He reached over and began to do things to the arm: twist this, turn that, flip this. All of the things seemed random to Ash, but important to Bob.

"The first people who found out about Inner Strength had no idea what it was or what it was for. They experimented with it and, eventually, were actually able to use it at will. . .without any machines to help of course," he said, mentioning Ash's microchip on his forehead. "But they were ignorant. They found out Inner Strength's power, but could not control it. Instead, they killed each other when they thought they knew what they were doing or handling."

Bob continued to mess with the needle on the arm. Screwing in more tubes and fixing others.

"Few live to know about Inner Strength to this day. Luckily, one of our old scientists was actually a descendent of one of the few scientists who first discovered Inner Strength and survived. He was able to teach us a little about Inner Strength and how to use it."

Bob paused to a second and shook his head, as if disappointed in something, then returned to his work.

"The man died soon after teaching us. We did a bit more research about this 'Inner Strength' that we have just learned. It was hard to find out about it, for all of the first scientists who found it died off from using their own too much," said Bob, still working. "But then some of our archaeologists found something. An artifact that, engraved in it, actually explained completely what Inner Strength was, what it was for, and even how to use it willingly. It was very complex, but we were able to understand it fully and use it fully. However. . .just as the scientists from before, many died from using it too much."

Ash forced his heavy mouth to open. He wanted to ask something.

"Why?" was all he could manage to say.

Bob stopped what he was doing and looked down at Ash.

"Why?" repeated Bob. "Why would we want to learn about it?"

Ash strained his head to move slightly up, then back down.

Bob pulled his hands away from the arm and walked around it to move closer to Ash.

"Isn't it obvious? What is it that we, Team Aqua, want? What is our dream?" Bob asked.

Ash was able to force out one more word.

"Water?"

Bob smiled and nodded his head.

"That's right! The great gift of water!" Bob proclaimed out, almost shouting it out with joy. "Just imagine: a whole planet of just water! No more droughts, no more tornadoes, no more earthquakes, no more volcanic eruptions! Plus, no one would have to go out and search for water to drink, it will all be clean, fresh water, everywhere!"

Bob walked backwards a bit to point to another monitor. This one had a map of the Earth.

"Look, already we're already 78 done! The great Blue Planet is almost there to perfection!"

Bob walked away from the monitor and back over to Ash.

"With the power of Inner Strength, we can use it from other beings to control them, tell them what to think or what to do. If we can learn how to completely control it, we could even learn how to find powerful Pokémon who hold all of our answers."

Bob smiled again and walked back over to the robotic arm.

"After all, we've already found one."

Ash moved his head back up so fast that his muscles ached from using so much energy.

"What?" Ash managed to say.

Bob chuckled at Ash being so shocked. Bob waved to the men who held onto Ash to follow him. He walked over to the large, blue container and pressed a finger on one of the monitors next to the great container.

"See, by using the power of Inner Strength that we've took from some of our enemies, we can actually make them track other powerful inner strengths around the area. The only thing is that sometimes certain Inner Strengths cannot track at all and sometimes the inner strengths that we try to track somehow find a way to hide themselves."

The monitor that Bod pressed showed a stone tablet on the screen. The tablet look extremely old and had maybe marking engraved in it. Some were pictures of different places and of two creatures that looked like Pokémon, while everything else were unreadable words in a different language.

"Our architects found this in one of their digs. It took us a long time to translate it, for the language it's in was long forgotten, but we were able to find out more than half of what it said."

Bob looked at the tablet in awe, as if he still couldn't believe what was in front of his eyes. Then, with a smile across his face, he turned back to face Ash.

"It was literally instructions on how to fill the planet with nothing but water! A manual on if the situation should call for it! All we needed were two things."

Bob turned back to the monitor and pressed on one of the engraved pictures. The monitor zoomed in on the picture, spreading it across the entire screen.

"We needed a creature that was the guardian of the sea. . .a creature that controlled the sea so that it could protect it."

Bob moved away from the monitor and over to the blue container. Ash looked up in the container. . .and didn't believe his eyes.

"We needed. . ." started Bob.

"Lugia!"

**Alright sorry that this took so long to make. Things have been happening here and there. Here's a small list of what has been happening:**

**1. Computer somehow was filled with viruses and spyware**

**2. Had to go get computer fixed and send it in**

**3. Went on a canoe trip with my uncle.**

**4. Finally got my computer back**

**And so on and so forth.**

**I'll try to update this sooner than before, just be patient with me please!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Alright! Finally, part 20 of Inner Strength! I'm really sorry about it taking me so long to make this. As some of ya'll know, Ike came in and hit where I live and took out our power for a couple of days. Also, my mother's parental block ain't helping me out...and I will admit that I did do a bit of procrastination. ;**

**Well, I only got one note for everyone. While this story was being edited and proof read, the paragraphs got kinda messed up a bit. It didn't mess up the words or anything, but just how they're placed.**

**That's all I have to say. I'm really sorry for such a long wait, but that ya'll so much for your patience!**

**Without ferther ado, here is the long awaited chapter!**

Inner Strength part 20

There, in the blue tank, was the legendary creature Lugia! Impressively, his huge white and blue body had plenty of room in the tank. His massive, white wings were folded across his body, and his large head was curved down, eyes closed.  
The expression on Lugia's face was...calm. The large sea guardian seemed as if he were resting and relaxing for the first time in his  
life.  
Ash was in so much shock that his weak mind couldn't understand it.  
_Lugia? Lugia...Lugia..._  
Ash felt extremely tired, and dropped his head down to let it hang  
over his body, gasping for breath. He had held his head up for such a  
long time that it exhausted him.  
Bob turned away from the blue tank and the creature within it to look  
down at Ash, who was still gasping. He raised his hand up to his chin  
and scratched it.  
"Hm...it seems that you still have some Inner Strength left over.  
You're still able to breathe, to know when it's time to rest, and even  
to ask a few questions when you are curious...this is interesting..."  
Bob walked away from the tank and back over to the mechanical arm with  
the needle. He issued some orders at the two grunts holding Ash, but  
Ash's mind was so clouded and weak that he could no longer understand  
what they were saying. It slowly became even more difficult to think  
or concentrate on anything. Ash would try to focus on anything he  
could...but, every time there was so much of a hint of thought, it  
drifted away into the blackness of his clouded mind.  
Ash thought that he felt his lungs stop moving..._What? Lungs? Gotta  
stay...stay?...What?...Is this?...Who?  
_Ash's vision drifted away as well. He felt at so at ease, so relaxed,  
that if his mind wasn't already so weak...he would've liked the  
sensation.  
Then, suddenly, a shock of pain ripped through Ash's consciousness;  
clearing the dark clouds from mind, but at the same time tearing his  
head open. The pain seemed to dance throughout his entire body;  
ripping everything open with each and every step in its terrifying  
leaps.  
Ash opened his eyes, noticing that he was screaming his lungs  
out...which meant that he was breathing. As he looked up, still  
screaming and crying in pain, he saw that the mechanical arm had stuckits needle into his head...or more like the microchip in his head. A  
strange, blue, liquid pulsed out of the arm and into his head.  
"That should be enough," said Bob.  
One of the grunts pressed a button on the arm, making the liquid stop.  
Then, he yanked out the arm out of Ash's head, also causing another  
yell in pain from him.  
It took a long time for Ash to stop yelling, and to calm himself down.  
When he did, Bob ordered the grunt that still held onto Ash to let him  
go.  
Gravity took hold of him quickly and yanked him down just as hard as  
the grunt yanked out the arm. Ash held in another yell. He pushed  
himself up with his forepaws, shaking everywhere. Gravity was  
surprisingly much stronger right now for him...but after awhile, Ash  
was able to get up to his feet. He staggered around a bit, like an  
infant learning to walk - but he was up. Ash noticed that he could  
think again as well.  
Bob knelt down to Ash's level and stared at him. "That was something  
we've been working on for a long while," he explained. "What is now  
inside of your body is artificial Inner Strength. It might not be as  
good as the natural substance, but in your case, I'm sure it'll help."  
Ash looked down at his paws. He still felt weak, but his current  
state was a vast improvement over his condition of a few minutes ago.  
"You see, Inner Strength can come back," explained Bob more.  
Ash looked up at him, still not talking. Bob just continued. "Think of  
it like when you get a cut. With time, the cut will eventually heal  
itself and the skin will be as good as new. However, it is not the  
same with Inner Strength. Inner Strength takes years to renew itself.  
Usually, an unfilled body would die before its Inner Strength even had  
the chance to grow back again. That is why I've just given you this  
artificial substance. Give your body a few years, maybe a decade - and  
you'll feel completely normal again."  
Ash stood there, watching Bob. They had a stare down for a few minutes  
more, until finally Ash asked, "Why did you do that?"  
"Excuse me?"  
"Why did you help me? I could've died right there...is this to save me  
for even more experiments?"  
That made Bob laugh. The man laughed long and hard, then calmed  
himself down and stood back up again.  
"You still do not get it, do you?" he asked.  
Ash tilted his head to the side, confused. Bob just shook his head and  
walked back over to the monitor with the picture of the tablet stillvisible.  
Ash quickly looked around, searching for an escape route, or anything  
that could help him. There was nothing. The path ahead of him simply  
lead to a dead end, filled with even more computers, monitors, and  
other machines unlike anything he had ever seen before. To his back  
were the two grunts. The way Ash felt right now, he didn't even dare  
to pick a fight. So, instead, he just turned his attention back to  
Bob.  
Bob walked back over to the monitor and pointed to one of the two  
pictures on the tablet.  
"You now know what this is, correct?" Bob asked.  
Ash looked at it. It was a very blocky, white, winged creature with a  
long, blue spiked tail, two large white legs, a long neck, and a  
curved face with bright, blue eyes.  
"Lugia?" guessed Ash.  
"Very good," said Bob, nodding his head. He moved his finger from the  
blocky picture of Lugia to the second picture. "Now...what do you make  
of this?"  
Ash looked at the new picture. It was also a blocky version of  
something, though this image was more difficult to discern. It was  
yellow, had long ears, a tail, and red cheeks. Ash would've said that  
it was a picture of a Pikachu, if not for the fact that it had the  
body of a human. It had long legs, whole arms and fingers, and a human  
shaped head...but still had all of the features of a Pikachu.  
"I...I don't know what it is," admitted Ash.  
Bob shook his head and looked back at the monitor again.  
"It's a combination of two things: Pokémon...and human. That's the  
second thing we need to finally be able to change the world...and for  
the better," said Bob. He turned his head and stared hard at Ash,  
pushing his gaze at him. Ash shuddered. _They need me...they need  
me to destroy the world!  
_"No!" Ash shouted, standing up. "I'll never help you!"  
Once more, Bob shook his head. "I'm afraid that you'll have to. One  
way or another, you will give us what we want."  
_No!_ Ash refused to even consider helping such evil people,  
especially after what they'd done. He needed to find a way to escape.  
The two grunts behind him were already reaching back for their  
Pokéballs. Those two were blocking his only exit - how was he supposed  
to get out? The only one not about to attack was Bob...  
Ash looked up at the mechanical arm above his small body. The needle  
was still sticking out...Ash moved as quickly as his small, though not very strong, body would  
allow him to. He leapt up into the air towards the metal arm and  
knocked it towards Bob. Bob saw it coming and tried to dodge, but the  
arm swung around much faster than even Ash expected, and the needle  
caught Bob right at the top of his arm. The thrust from the mechanical  
arm pushed Bob's body up to the monitor with the picture of the tablet  
on it. The glass on the monitor cracked, and the tablet picture  
fractured into a multitude of images before it disappeared. Bob  
shouted in pain, hanging in the air with his arm pinned to the  
shattered monitor, and Ash took that as an advantage. The two grunts  
looked up at Bob, and one even took a step forward to try to help. Ash  
just ran right in between the two and out the door.  
"Ah!" Bob screamed, and then pointed down at the door Ash ran out of. "Get him!"  
The grunts turned back around, not even hesitating, and ran out the  
door and pursued Ash.  
Bob, still hanging by his arm, tried to pull the mechanical machine  
out. It was no good. The scientist looked at it, noticing that  
something was moving. The blue liquid was flowing into him.

* * *

Ash was running down some long hallway, not knowing where he was or  
what to do next. He couldn't think as well as before. The only thought  
in his head was the word run - which, so far, seemed to be keeping him  
safe from the two grunts. Or...at least that was what he thought.  
Just to make sure, Ash took a quick glance over his shoulder while he  
ran. Sure enough, the two grunts were right on his tail...along with  
their two Pokémon, already out of their Pokéballs. One was a Vaporeon  
while the other was a Mightyena.  
Both of the Pokémon were quickly catching up to Ash. They were much  
too fast for him to outrun...he would just have to think of some other  
way to avoid them. Ash's thoughts were slowly coming back to him, but  
not at a fast enough rate for him to think of a solution to his  
situation. _Okay...those Pokémon...bad...um..._ Ash tried his  
best to think, but doing that while running wasn't easy for him. He  
almost tripped over his paws from thinking too much about the grunts  
and their Pokémon, rather than on how to run.  
_There's a fork coming. Take a right._  
Ash remembered that voice. It was the same voice that helped him stay  
alive while being dragged through the water.  
Just as the voice said, Ash could see the hallway come to an end andturn in two different directions. Ash didn't have time to double think  
about anything; plus, he couldn't think of anything else that could  
possibly help him. He skidded his body over to the side and ran to the  
right.  
Three men in white lab coats were walking by in this new room. None of  
them noticed Ash or the two grunts or the two grunts' Pokémon as they  
each came closer. One of them was fortunate enough to look up from his  
clipboard and yelp in surprise. By the time the other two scientists  
knew what the yelp was for, Ash had dived right in between them,  
making them jump to the side in order to get out of the way. Luckily,  
the three scientists also were good blockers when the two grunts had  
to get through. The grunts and their Pokémon were eventually able to  
push aside the confused scientists and continue their chase for Ash,  
who was now quite ahead of them.  
_Okay...um...whoever this is_, thought Ash, talking to the voice  
that was helping him, _Now what? How do I get out of here?_  
_Leaving so soon? What about your friends? Did you not want to save them?_  
Ash almost skidded to a halt right then and there, and he probably  
would have if it wasn't for the fact that he was being chased. He had  
completely forgotten about the Mistys! They must be still locked up!  
_But then...what about Bayleef? And Xander? Could I save them too? How could I find everyone? Do you know where they are at?_ Ash asked.  
_Yes._  
Ash looked over his shoulder as he ran. He was barely able to get a  
glimpse of a Hydro Pump attack that came from one of the grunts'  
Pokémon, and he leapt over to the side to avoid it. The water attack  
pulsed right beside Ash, barely missing him. He had a bit of trouble  
getting back to his momentum after dodging, but he was able to...with  
the cost of letting the grunts get just a bit closer.  
_Yes? Okay, then where are they? Please tell me! _Ash begged.  
_I am sorry, but I cannot tell you that. I will not interfere_.  
Another Hydro Pump was launched, and Ash had to once again leap over  
to the side. This time, he actually felt some of the water splash  
against his fur.  
The same as before, Ash's dodge cost him time, and he tried to regain his speed.  
_But I can give you a hint_.  
Ash's ears perked up out of excitement...but then he had to lay them  
back down as he ducked another Hydro Pump. This time, the water got  
close enough to his head to blow away his hat. The Hydro Pump carried  
it into another room across from him, so Ash dashed that way._Stop._  
Ash kept running. _What, are you insane? They'll catch me!_  
_I said stop_.  
Ash didn't have any other ideas, so he stopped running and stood where  
he was. This confused the grunts a bit, causing them to halt for a  
second, but then they continued their pursuit, taking advantage of  
Ash's stop.  
_Wait._  
Ash closed his eyes tight together, getting ready for the pain that  
was sure to come. _Why am I waiting here? To get myself killed? Why  
do I trust this voice, anyway? It could be leading me to a trap, for  
all I know!  
_Ash peeked open one of his eyes...just to see if the two grunts had  
made it to him yet. They were just about in front of him. One grunt  
pointed his finger at Ash and commanded to his Pokémon, "Garret! Use  
Steel Claw, now!"  
Garret must've been the Mightyena, for he was the one that moved when  
the order was made.  
Garret the Mightyena lunged strait towards Ash, claws open and fangs  
bared. Ash had the strongest urge to run away...and yet he still stood  
there, eyes closed, getting ready for the pain...  
It came...and it did not hold back.  
First, the large Mightyena landed on top of Ash's small Pikachu body;  
slashing his now steel claws across Ash's face. Ash tried to ward the  
attacks away, but since on his back, he was at a great disadvantage.  
All he could possibly do was keep his paws in front of him to somewhat  
block the continuous slashing.  
Ash looked away, averting his eyes from the steel claws, but then  
heard a sudden yelp and looked back up. The Mightyena was on his back,  
trying to back away from him, a bruise on his side.  
Ash quickly got back to his feet and looked around to see who his  
savior was. It was Bayleef! _I don't know how, but she was able to  
find me!_  
"Bayleef!" Ash shouted, suddenly realizing that he could think  
somewhat fully again. "What are you doing here? I told you to find a  
way out!" Bayleef turned her head and looked at Ash. "I can't leave  
you. I...wont leave you," she said. As she spoke, a small, yellow  
head popped up from upon her back. It was Xander, still held in place  
by Bayleef's vines.  
One of the grunts ordered the Mightyena back up. "There it is! Get it  
now!" shouted the grunt. "Use Metal Claw again, this time on thatBayleef!"  
"Vaporeon! Help Garret by using Hydro Pump again!" ordered the other grunt.  
"Bayleef, Vine Whip!" shouted Ash.  
The Mightyena lunged forward with the line of water spraying right at  
his side. Bayleef brought out two more vines out of her back and flung  
them towards the attacking Mightyena. She whacked Garret's side,  
pushing him into the oncoming Hydro Pump that was aimed towards her.  
The attack collided with the Mightyena, hurting the Pokémon and  
stopping the attack at the same time.  
"Good, now let's go!" shouted Ash, getting back down on his four paws.  
Bayleef didn't say anything else. She turned around and ran next to  
Ash, who tried to keep up to the best of his ability.  
"Get back up! Get back up!" barked the grunts. "Come on, it's right there!"  
_I'm not an it!_ Ash thought.  
"Ash, you're moving too slow. Hurry up!" commanded Bayleef, jogging next to him.  
"I'm moving as fast as I can!"  
"Well, that's not fast enough for me!"  
Bayleef brought out another vine; curling it around Ash and using it  
to lift him up to her back, wrapping him in place next to Xander. Ash  
was surprised by this, but relieved at not having to run anymore.  
However, Bayleef had him strapped down pretty good. He couldn't move  
his arms and could just barely move his head. Maybe this was how  
Bayleef could still carry people while being able to sprint.  
Xander was able to turn his little head so that he could see his  
father. His eyes were wet and filled with tears, painful evidence of  
the extant of his terror. Ash tried to scoot as close to his son as he  
could. All of the jumps and leaps Bayleef was performing made it a  
difficult task, but he got close enough to rest his head against  
Xander's. "Don't worry...I'm here...I'm here..."

* * *

The two grunts made a small sprint in an attempt to pursue Bayleef,  
but she already had a great lead and was at a speed neither of them  
could achieve. They stopped in their tracks, calling their Pokémon  
back into their Pokéballs, and rested on their knees, breathing hard.  
"Damn it, George," one said between breaths. "They got away, along  
with the one we needed!"  
It took the other grunt a bit longer to be able to talk between his  
short gasps, but when he did, he stood back up. "Oh, shut up! It's not  
my fault it got away!""Well, then, why didn't your _Garret_ get 102 when we had the  
chance? Huh?" The first grunt also stood back up on his feet. "Geez,  
George, why do you even name all of your Pokémon? This isn't a game,  
here! We're not battling, we're fighting!"  
George glared at the other grunt, showing a bit of his teeth. "Don't  
you dare make fun of my Garret! He might be young, but he's still just  
as strong as your Vaporeon - if not stronger!"  
"Oh yeah? Would you like to prove that?"  
"Why not? Right here! Right now!"  
The two reached for their Pokéballs, and were just about to summon  
their Pokémon when one of the grunt's pockets beeped. The grunt  
growled and reached in his pocket, pulling out a small radio.  
"What?" the grunt barked, anger still boiling inside of him from his argument.  
"Don't talk to me like that! Where's 102? What's your status?" It was  
Bob. The grunt immediately calmed down, remembering his manners and  
remembering what Bob could do to him.  
"Um...I'm sorry, sir," corrected the grunt. "We've lost 102, but—"  
"What?!" shouted Bob through the other end of the radio. "I ordered  
you and your partner to retrieve 102, and now you are telling me that  
you two were unsuccessful?"  
The grunt holding the radio looked up at the other grunt, as if  
looking for some support. The other grunt just shrugged.  
"Yes...um...I'm very sorry, sir...but it seems that it brought some  
friends to help it."  
"'Some friends?'" repeated Bob. "What do you mean?"  
"You know what I mean, sir," said the grunt, now confident. "It  
brought along some friends."  
There was a small pause. The radio didn't make a sound for a bit.  
Then, finally, Bob talked again.  
"Where is your current position?" asked Bob.  
"Um..."  
The grunt looked up. "Hey, do you know what hall this is?" he asked  
the other grunt.  
The other grunt looked around. "Nope, but I think I saw Hallway F down  
there," said the grunt, pointing a thumb behind him.  
The grunt talked back in the radio.  
"We think that we're somewhere in Hallway G or H. What we're looking  
for went down...um...I think it's Hallway E..."  
"Fine," snapped Bob, not wanting to waste any more time on simply  
trying to figure out where those two morons where. "Alert everyone you  
see! Tell them what is going on. I want all personnel looking for it. Ignore the others with it - its...'friends,' as you call them."  
"Yes, sir!" The grunt put the radio back in his pocket, and turned  
towards the other grunt. "Well, you heard the man. Let's alert  
everyone else! 102 and his friends won't have anywhere to hide if  
everyone knows about them."

* * *

May, Max, and Brock ran all the way to the river from the professor's  
lab. Once they finally made it there, they stopped to catch their  
breath.  
"Okay, May...now what?" asked Max, sitting down on a rock next to the  
river. May knelt down, trying to catch her breath. "I don't know...we  
have to find Ash...he was supposed to be here."  
Brock took a deep breath, then looked around. He observed the area  
around them, taking special interest in the area around the river.  
"Hey! There, look!" he said, pointing to the ground.  
"What?" said Max and May.  
Brock knelt down to the ground and placed his hands near some marks.  
"See this?" said Brock, pointing. "They're pawprints...Pikachu pawprints."  
"Ash," said May.  
Brock nodded. "It is possible. I can see a hint of some other prints, the ones that show him walking here...but right at this point, they stop. There aren't any walking away or towards the river."  
Max looked at the prints too, examining them. "But this is soft soil. The only way for there to not be any pawprints at all would be if Ash could fly..."  
May gasped in realization. She remembered the metal claw mechanism.  
"Or maybe he was pulled in!" she said.  
Brock got up to his feet, and Max did the same. "Ash must already be inside Team Aqua's base."  
May was panicking. She didn't want Ash to get killed! But now...he was  
down there all alone, with no one to help save him from Team Aqua!  
What if he's already captured? What if he's already hurt? What if  
they're doing something horrible to him right now?  
What if he's already dead?  
"Well, what do we do? We can't just stand here!" complained May,  
worried sick. "We have to go down there and help Ash!"  
"How, May?" asked Max. "How are we supposed to go all the way down  
there? Who knows how deep this river is. We could drown ourselves  
before we even reach the base!"May wanted to argue more...but she knew that her brother was right.  
"Then...what do we do?" she asked, desperately.

* * *

Mrs. Ketchum called out into the forest. "Lucario!"  
No answer.  
She moved deeper into the forest; looking up, down, around -  
everywhere for her dear friend. "Lucario!"  
Still no answer.  
Delia had been looking for what seemed like hours for her Lucario, and  
yet still she hadn't found a trace of him. The more and more she  
searched, the more and more she got aggravated with it. "Lucario!"  
Delia threw her fists down, hitting the air. She'd had it. "Lucario,  
if you really are there, I know you can hear me! Don't think that I've  
forgotten everything!"  
She waited. The wind blew, rustling the trees around her, and leaves  
floated in the air...but those were the only sounds Delia could hear  
for the longest time.  
She sighed and walked forward, moving deeper into the forest.  
But then...a new sound stopped her. _CRACK! THUD!_  
Delia spun around. There, laying down on his chest with his head  
popping out, was her old, long lost friend, Lucario. He must've fell  
down from a tree branch or something and landed on his head.  
Delia shook her head. "Ten years and you still haven't changed one  
bit, Lucario," she said.  
Lucario made a small smile, but it quickly vanished as he pulled  
himself back up and stood in front of Mrs. Ketchum. "Delia," he said.  
Just the way he said it made it sound like he had been longing to say  
that word again.  
Lucario walked up to Delia...and embraced her with a strong hug.  
"Delia," he said again. He was starting to cry. "I've missed you...so  
much..."  
Mrs. Ketchum herself was starting to cry, and tried to return the hug.  
"I missed you too, Lucario," she said. "But...I can see that your  
hugs...still hurt."  
"Oh!" Lucario quickly pulled himself away from Delia, remembering the  
spike on his chest. Apparently, it tore through Delia's shirt a bit.  
"I...I'm so sorry," said Lucario, having trouble talking. "I'm so  
sorry! I...I forgot! It's just been so long!"  
Delia just smiled at him. She moved closer and placed a finger at his lips, telling him to hush. "It's okay, Lucario. It's okay," she said, reassuring him. "I'm just glad that I finally got to see you again.  
Please tell me, what happened? Where did you go?"  
Lucario pushed Delia's hand aside and looked down. "That's what I  
wanted to talk to you about."  
"Then please, tell me what happened. Do you know how long I looked for you?"  
Lucario paused...then nodded. "Yes...I do..."  
Delia tilted her head, confused. "You do? You know how long I looked  
for you?" she asked. "How?"  
Lucario stood there for a long time, not saying anything. Delia  
watched his eyes; seeing how they were trying to hide all kinds of  
emotions. She could see worry, shame, anger, frustration...and  
something was telling her that her Lucario was having a very hard time  
thinking of what to say. Was he...nervous?  
Finally, Lucario took a long breath, as if summoning up his courage,  
and looked back up into Delia's eyes.  
"Delia...I...I did something horrible to you..." he said.  
Now Mrs. Ketchum was even more confused. "Wha-what are you talking about?"  
Lucario glanced away, turning his head so he wouldn't look into  
Delia's eyes. "Delia...I did leave...I did...but...I came back."  
"Came...back? Lucario, I don't understand, please tell me what is  
wrong. What did you do?"  
Another pause from Lucario. He looked back up into Delia's eyes. Then,  
he walked up closer to her and grabbed both of her shoulders with his  
paws. "Delia...don't you see? I never left...I'm—" Just then, a loud  
_BANG_ shook the entire forest, cutting off Lucario's sentence.  
Lucario let go of Delia to see what was going on, but then almost fell  
down as another _BANG_ erupted, this time sounding even louder  
and closer.  
"What is that?" shouted Lucario above the ringing in his ears. "I  
don't know!" called back Delia.  
Then, another _BANG_, then another, and another, and another!  
Soon, it was a nonstop bombardment; the forest quaking from the  
vibrations. Delia looked up. She could see through the trees that  
giant beams of red light were being fired at the ground, and very  
close by! She could see some sort of red ship in the sky, firing all  
of those shots.  
Lucario grabbed Delia's arm.  
"Quick! We have to go!" he shouted above all of the noise. Delia just  
nodded her head and followed behind, trying to cover her ears.  
Lucario leapt forward, dashing through the forest with amazing speedand agility. Delia tried to catch up, but she was practically being  
dragged behind Lucario by the arm.  
Now, both Delia and Lucario could hear fighter planes flying through  
the sky, also adding to the noise. Delia looked up and saw that they  
too were firing at something very close to them.  
"Delia!"  
Delia looked back down, but was tackled by Lucario on the side. She  
fell down unto the hard ground, looking back up. She saw two red beams  
heading straight towards her head. Delia covered her head with her  
arms and squeezed her eyes, trying to ready herself for the pain.  
Then, there was a flash of blue, and the red beams were gone.  
Delia opened her eyes. Lucario had both of his arms outstretched; his  
paws glowing blue. He lowered them quickly and moved towards Delia.  
"Are you okay?" he asked. Delia nodded, too terror stricken to talk.  
"We need to move," said Lucario, picking her up. One arm held her legs  
and the other held her about her shoulders - bridal style.  
Delia looked over Lucario's shoulder. At the spot where she had been  
standing just before Lucario tackled her to the ground was an orange,  
glowing area; melted by the red beam of light.

* * *

May fell down to her knees, aggravated. She looked back up at Brock to  
think of something, to think of a plan, to think of _anything_.  
Brock just shook his head, sighing.  
Max laid down on his back and looked up at the darkening sky.  
"Hey," Max said, after awhile. "What's that thing right there?"  
May looked up. There was a very large ship in the sky, almost like a  
blimp, but red. It had a weird symbol on each of its sides.  
As soon as May figured out what it was, a great, red beam of light  
crashed down right next to Max, barely missing him. "Max! Look out!"  
shouted May to her brother.  
Max rolled over to his stomach as fast as he could; from there he got  
up to his feet and ran to his older sister.  
In only a matter of seconds, the sky began to fill with all kinds of  
fighter planes and war ships, all of them with emblazoned with the  
Team Magma symbol. Then, in only a matter of minutes, the sky and the  
river became a war zone. Red beams of light were scattered everywhere.  
Max, May, and Brock tried to find a way to escape the battlefield, but  
the explosions and shots came so close to them that they were unable  
to move. It was by mere luck that they were still alive right now."May!" Max shouted fearfully, clinging onto his sister. May knelt down  
towards her brother and hugged onto him, covering him with her body,  
trying to protect him in any way possible. "I'm right here, Max!" she  
shouted above the noise of the war. "I'm right here and I'm not  
letting you go!"  
Brock also bent down and covered Max a bit, but he also took a moment  
to look around. There had to be another way to get out of here - but  
what?  
_BOOM!_ Brock covered his head with his arms as chunks of rocks  
and debris flew everywhere.

_

* * *

_

BOOM! BANG!

Bayleef lost her balance and tottered to the side as the whole base shook.  
"What's going on?" asked Ash, from on top of Bayleef's back. "I don't  
know," she answered.  
Just then, the sound of another explosion came from outside, and the  
floor seemed to tilt a bit to the side, making Bayleef slide to her  
right. "Someone's shooting at us!" concluded Ash. "But who?"  
Then, it occurred to him. Team Magma! Why else were they so close to  
the river? To attack Team Aqua! That must've been why they attacked  
him and Pikachu, because they were scared that they wouldn't be able  
to surprise Team Aqua!  
Then, another thought came to Ash. If Team Magma does destroy Team  
Aqua's base...then they'll kill us in the process.

* * *

Bob ran over to the main defense room, rubbing his arm as he did so.  
He pressed the button on the door to make it open, but then another  
explosion shook the entire base and caused the automated door to short  
circuit. Bob swore and pulled the door open himself, and then lunged  
into the room.  
"John! Status report!" Bob ordered. A man in a white lab coat turned  
around, but then fell down to the floor as another shot shook the  
base.  
"We're being shot from the surface, sir!" said the man, as he  
staggered back to his feet. "And from the looks of it, it's a full  
scale invasion! Luckily, no real damage yet, sir. We do have a few  
punctures in the lower east corridor, which is taking in water prettyfast, but that's it."  
Bob nodded and made his way to the middle of the room. "Alright, I  
want shields up and online at full power!"  
"Yes, sir!"  
"And return fire! There's no doubt that this is Team Magma's work.  
Also, I want that hole covered and patched up ASAP, understand?"  
"Yes, sir!"  
Bob went towards one working computer, but instead of actually using  
it, he reached over and picked up the mic for the base's IHM. Then, he  
pressed the talk button.

* * *

Bayleef had to stop to try to regain her balance from all of the  
bombardments. She eventually did, but then she heard a loud tone, that  
was followed by a voice that Ash could not mistake.  
"Attention, all Aqua personnel!" boomed Bob's voice. "We need everyone  
to go into defensive action immediately! All M16 turrets are online  
and ready to use. You all know the drill: grab a weapon, ready your  
Pokémon, and continue this fight on the surface!" There was a slight  
pause, and then Bob continued. "Also, Ray, wherever you are, I need  
you to get to the main control room ASAP. We still have some  
unfinished business to attend to with Experiment 102. That is all. Now  
move!"  
There was another tone, then no more. Ash sighed. "Even through a  
battle, they're still looking for me," he said. "Come on, Bayleef, we  
need to get out of here before this whole place goes under!"  
Bayleef nodded her head, then charged forward, going who-knows-where.  
She ran down one hall, which turned left, so she turned as well. Right  
there, around the corner, were about four new grunts. They were  
running towards the area where Bayleef and her passengers were  
escaping from, so once they saw each other, they all paused.  
One of the grunts pointed at them. "Look! It's the escapees! Get  
them!" he shouted.  
All four of the grunts pulled out their Pokéballs, some holding two in  
each hand while others held one in each hand.  
"Oh man..." said Ash, eyes widening. "Bayleef! Release me now!"  
Bayleef did as she was told, and unwrapped the vines around Ash. He  
leapt up off of her and lunged towards one of the grunts, tail glowing  
and ready. The grunt saw it and tried to block Ash's attack with his  
Pokéball. Sure enough, Ash's tail rebounded right off of the Pokéballand knocked him back to the ground.  
"Bayleef!" Ash called. "Now would be a good time to run!"  
"No!" she argued. "I'm not leaving you, Ash!"  
Already, all of the grunt's Pokémon were summoned. Ash blocked a  
spinning Starmie with his tail, then flung it off.  
"They're after me, Bayleef! You can still get away!" Ash shouted back.  
Before Bayleef could argue back, the floor shook again, followed by  
another BANG! The grunts and their Pokémon lost their balance for a  
second or so, and Ash took the opportunity to lunge up at the Starmie  
and slash at it with his claws. He then jumped off of it and ran  
towards one of the grunts, swinging his now glowing tail right at the  
grunt's face and leaving a deep, long, gash across his cheek. The  
grunt fell down, along with the Starmie.  
Ash landed back on his feet. _Woah...one hit KO?_  
Then, a Lombre charged in, opening its mouth and clamping down upon  
Ash's head. Ash struggled to get out, but the Lombre wouldn't budge.  
Bayleef rushed in to help Ash, but was blocked by one of the grunts'  
Seviper. Bayleef swung around the leaf on her head and threw out many  
sharp leaf blades at the Seviper. The Seviper brought the end of its  
tail up to its face, blocking the leaves, and then lunged in and  
coiled around Bayleef, along with Xander on her back.  
"Bay!" cried out Bayleef, having her breath pushed out of her by the wrap.  
Then...Ash heard his son cry out, "Daddy!" _He...he said his first word! _Thought Ash. _He called me Daddy!_  
Ash still had his head stuck in the Lombre's mouth. A Crawdaunt came  
in to help and started clawing at Ash's side, along with an Electrike  
who kept biting Ash's tail. There were, of course, other Pokémon, but  
Ash couldn't see them. All of the grunts left their Pokémon and ran  
over to the Seviper so they could capture Bayleef.  
"NO!" shouted out Ash. He couldn't let them get Xander; not his son!  
He would never let anyone touch his child!  
Anger flowed through Ash's body, bringing adrenaline to his muscles.  
He pulled his paws up and over the Lombre's upper and lower jaws; and  
then, with strength that Ash had no idea he had in the first place,  
ripped the jaws in two different directions. He heard a loud snap, and  
then the Lombre fell down. He couldn't think with all the anger and  
adrenaline pumping through his body...  
Ash swung his body around, making the Electrike fly towards the wall,  
and then lunged with incredible speed towards the Crawdaunt. It was  
like a Quick Attack...but with even more speed than Ash could haveever imagined. He just appeared in front of the Crawdaunt, then  
disappeared, but leaving several large claw marks on its face.  
Then, deep red claw marks that cut right through its shell kept  
appearing all over the Crawdaunt; appearing out of nowhere, as if a  
ghost was fighting it. Crawdaunt tried to fight back, but whenever it  
moved, its head was cracked to some random side.  
Ash reappeared behind the Crawdaunt, not even breaking a sweat. With  
one quick motion, Ash grabbed what was left of the Crawdaunt and threw  
it clear across the hall, as if it weighed only a pound. The Crawdaunt  
flew through the air, hitting some of the other Pokémon, and then  
slammed against the wall on the other side. The Crawdaunt fell down to  
the floor, revealing a very deep, and very wide, dent in the metal wall.  
The grunts stopped what they were doing. They looked at the dent in  
the metal wall...then at the fainted Crawdaunt...then at Ash. It  
wasn't just Ash himself that caught the grunt's curiosity - it was the  
expression in his eyes.  
It was anger. Rage. Uncontrollable rage. Ash's eyes were even fully dilated.  
As soon as the grunts could recover from their shock, one of them  
pointed at him and shouted out orders for all of the Pokémon. "Don't  
just stand there, get it!" the grunt shouted.  
All of the grunts' Pokémon rushed towards Ash, already getting their  
attacks ready: attacks from Bite to Hyper Beam.  
Then...Ash disappeared.  
He reappeared in front of a charging Mudkip, swung his tail around  
with incredible speed and strength, and knocked it out in a single  
hit; flinging the Pokémon straight into the floor.  
Again, Ash disappeared right as the Mudkip lost consciousness, and  
then reappeared in front of a Kingler. He grabbed both of its mighty  
pincers, and then threw the crab Pokémon towards a Poochyena, a  
Spheal, and a Cacturne. The Kingler was thrown with such force that  
all three of the Pokémon were slammed hard. Each of them was carried  
along with the flying Kingler; which flew straight towards the wall  
with incredible speed, adding another larger dent next to the one from  
the Crawdaunt.  
Ash did the same as before - with remarkable rapidity he disappeared,  
and then reappeared, right in front of each and every single Pokémon  
in the room, knocking them all out with a single blow. In mere  
moments, all of the grunts' Pokémon were laying on the ground,  
unconscious.  
The only Pokémon that was left was the Seviper, who was still wrapped  
around Bayleef and Xander. Ash stood in the middle of the hallway,watching the grunts. All of the grunts stood in awe of Ash, trembling in fear of him.  
Ash moved first. He disappeared...but didn't reappear. Everyone kept  
looking around; trying to see the invisible Pikachu that could move  
faster than any eye could follow. One grunt began to freak out and,  
grabbing the gun at his side, started to aim at random areas. "Where'd  
it go? Where'd it go?!"  
Another grunt had to force the man to lower his weapon. "Get it  
together! He'll be here! We have—"  
Then Seviper shrieked in pain as a large gash swelled up on its side.  
Ash reappeared near its head, which he grabbed with both of his paws  
and then flung straight at the cold, hard, metal floor. The Seviper  
fell down with a loud BANG - and then was out cold, uncoiling itself  
from Bayleef and Xander.  
Ash grabbed the Seviper's body, swung it around, and threw it right at  
the grunts. The long snake Pokémon flew through the air like a javelin  
and knocked the grunts out cold, each having been hit either on the  
head or square in the chest.  
Ash stopped and stood there, breathing hard. He wasn't tired,  
just...angry. His body was still filled with energy and adrenaline. It  
was hard for him to stay still!  
Ash forced himself to take a long, deep breath...and then to let it  
all out. That seemed to calm him down, so he kept doing it until he  
could finally sit down again.

* * *

Bayleef looked around, Xander still tied to her back.  
Everyone...everyone except for Ash...was on the ground, knocked out.  
There were so many motionless bodies! Could Ash...her Ash, really be  
able to do such a feat?  
Ash looked up at Bayleef. "Are you okay?" he asked her.  
Bayleef hesitated, noticing all of the bodies...both human and  
Pokémon. Then she nodded. Ash nodded back, and then took another deep  
breath. "How...what...?"  
Bayleef tried to talk, but emotions were swinging throughout her.  
Happiness, worry, fear, and surprise all at once.  
Ash looked around himself, noticing what he had done. "I...I don't  
know," he said, standing back up. He walked over to one of the fainted  
bodies. "That was...amazing! All of that power! It was...it was just  
so easy!" he exclaimed. "But then...there was all of that hate...I wasso angry..."  
Ash looked back up at Bayleef. She was walking away from him! She was  
becoming scared of him!  
"No, no! Don't worry, I will never hurt you," said Ash. "I think I got  
mad at them for hurting you and Xander."  
Bayleef was still in shock, not moving.  
Ash walked up to her, moving slowly, but he stopped when he noticed  
that one of the grunts was beginning to stir. "Come on, Bayleef. Let's  
go before they wake up," said Ash, trying to soothe her.  
Bayleef still stared at Ash...then looked down at the stirring grunt.  
She shook her head, getting the thoughts out, and then told Ash to get  
on her back. He did so quickly, and just like that they were off  
again.  
Bayleef didn't tie Ash to her back this time. Ash kept telling himself  
that it was probably because she was in a hurry, and forgot. _But  
still...whatever happened back there...it scared her. I must've turned  
into a monster, or something...  
_To get his mind off of what happened, he watched as some rooms passed by.  
Technical Support Room.  
Lounge.  
Special Equipment Room.  
Terror Hostilities Encampment Room.  
"Stop!" shouted Ash.  
Bayleef skidded to a halt, almost flinging Ash right off of her back.  
"What? What is it?"  
Ash jumped off of Bayleef's back and over to the last room he saw.  
_Terror Hostilities Encampment Room_. The words were sideways, so  
that the first letter of each word was right above the next.  
Terror  
Hostilities  
Encampment  
T.H.E Room! The Room!  
"The Mistys must be in here!"

* * *

Lucario ran out of the forest as quickly as his legs would let him,  
still carrying Delia like a bride. The poor woman was so terrified of  
the intense battle that she buried her head in his chest, crying on  
his fur.  
Lucario wished that he could warm her...just like he could in the goodold days...but this wasn't the time.  
He saw a stray shot fall from the sky and lunged towards the side to  
avoid it. BAM! The explosion almost knocked Lucario off his feet, but  
he kept on running.  
"Delia!" Lucario shouted above the war sounds around him. "Where is your house?"  
Delia still had her face buried in his chest. She was just too scared  
to come out. Her arms were wrapped around the back of his neck...and  
each explosion around them made her grip even tighter.  
Lucario was about to shout out the question again, but stopped as he  
noticed something new in the sky, coming from the river he had once  
passed by. Instead of red war ships, these were blue...no, these  
didn't come from the sky after all, it looked as if they came from the  
water itself...and they were shooting back! Now the sky filled with  
not only red beams of light, but blue beams as well, which attacked  
everything in sight.  
Then, Lucario heard something in the sky again, but this one wasn't  
coming from the river. He looked to the other side of the sky and saw  
a massive red mother ship. It was so big that it seemed to devour the  
sky itself.  
Lucario watched the mother ship as he ran. He could see much smaller  
forms detaching themselves from its bottom and falling to the ground.  
iVehicles of some sorts?/i  
He didn't have time to find out - he had to get Delia to safety!  
"Delia! Listen to me!" shouted Lucario again. "Where is your house? Do  
you have a house?"  
Delia still had her face covered in his chest, and she stayed there  
for awhile longer, shivering and sobbing. Finally, she pulled her face  
out and pointed.  
"There!" was all she said, before she returned to the comfort of her  
Lucario's warm chest.  
Lucario double-timed and made it to Delia's house in a snap, his  
agility showing off impressively. He kicked open the door and hurried  
Delia inside.  
Delia poked her head back out and looked around her home.  
"Ash? Ash!" she called out.  
There was no answer. The thundering of the war outside was the only  
noise they could hear.  
"Ash?" asked Lucario. "Who is this 'Ash?'"  
Delia started looking around frantically, releasing herself from  
Lucario and standing on her feet. Soon, she was running around. "Ash!  
Ash!""Who is Ash?" asked Lucario again. Delia came to him, eyes filled with  
tears. "He's my son," she said. "I don't know where he's at!"  
Lucario paused, shocked.  
"S-s-son? You have a son?!" he asked, awestruck.  
Delia nodded.  
"Yes, and I don't know where he's at! He could be in trouble right  
now!" She started to cry again, not knowing what to do. Lucario, not  
wanting to see his old friend crying again, tried to calm her down.  
"Don't worry, I'll look for him!" he shouted above the noise. "Just  
where do you think he could possibly be?"  
Delia thought for a second...then covered her head as something  
slammed against her house, causing some dust to fall.  
"Um...I'm afraid that's he's in the middle of that fight out there,"  
she said. "He did say something about a 'Team Aqua.' Oh, no! What if  
my baby is in the river everyone's shooting at?!"  
"Don't worry, don't worry," said Lucario, reassuring her and calming  
her down. "Just stay here; try to find some underground shelter, and  
I'll go look for o—I mean, your son."  
Delia stood there for a bit, staring at Lucario. She couldn't stop  
herself from worrying about her little boy, and Lucario could see that  
in her eyes. He could see the true mother coming out of her. "Please,"  
she finally said. "Find him...and be safe..."  
Lucario stared at her...then nodded. He turned around and headed for  
the door...but then stopped. "Delia," he said, not looking back at  
her. "If I don't make it back...I just want to say that I've—"  
_BANG!_ Again, something hit the house, shaking the floor and  
toppling over glasses, that shattered as they hit the floor. Lucario  
knew that he didn't have time, and that this wasn't such a safe place  
for his old trainer.  
"Delia, do you still know that professor? Does he still live here?"  
asked Lucario.  
"Yes!"  
"Go to his lab! I'm sure he has better protection than here!" shouted  
Lucario. "And don't worry, I'll be back with your son! I promise!"  
Before Delia could say anything back, Lucario ran outside, dodging  
more red and blue beams as he went.

* * *

The things that detached from the mother ship were, in fact, vehicles  
of some sort. Lucario saw one as he made his way back to the river. Itwas red and had six enormous tires. Lucario ran up right next to it,  
matching speeds with the vehicle. Then, he jumped right at the side of  
the machine and grabbed on for dear life. The driver inside was  
startled, swerving the vehicle a bit, but soon gained back his  
control.  
Lucario climbed up the vehicle's side, up to the driver's window. He  
raised up his paw, filling it with his aura, and then slammed it down,  
shattering the glass. Actually, by how much it hurt Lucario's paw, he  
could tell that the window was made out of safety glass...maybe even  
bullet proof glass. Lucario reached in and pulled the driver out of  
his own seat and through the window, throwing him at the ground.  
Then, after the driver was thrown out of his own car, Lucario dove in  
through the window, feet first, and got into the driver's seat. He  
pushed down hard on the pedal and grabbed the wheal with both paws.  
"Alright...let's see what this thing can do," he said to himself.  
There was a bright red button right next to the shift stick to  
Lucario's right. Curiosity overcame him. Holding onto the wheel with one paw, he pressed the  
button.  
The vehicle lurched forward, increasing in speed and velocity in a  
matter of seconds. Lucario flung back in his seat, grabbing the steering wheel just to keep himself from falling out of the car. He looked at the speedometer and watched as it  
flew across the numbers, stopping at 200mph, but still wanting to keep  
moving. He could feel his lips slowly curling backwards.  
Lucario quickly pressed on the red button again, trying to slow down  
the vehicle. The car did slow down quickly, but still kept up its  
speed, though nowhere near as fast as with the red button.  
"Woah," was all Lucario could say. "Gotta put that up for 'last resort only'."  
Soon enough, the river came into view. Lucario guessed that the red  
button probably sped up the small trip by three times.  
But right there, in front of the river, were three kids. One young  
female human, one very young male human, and one male human slightly  
older than the female. All of them were crowded together, frightened  
by the war that was happening around them. Lucario was surprised that  
they were still even alive.  
He pushed on the breaks and skidded right next to the three children.  
The kids looked up at his vehicle, still scared. Lucario opened up the  
side door and urged the kids into the car.  
"Come on, get in!" he shouted above the noise. "Get in before you get  
yourselves hurt!"  
The three kids looked at each other...then rushed forward as another  
explosion erupted from right behind them. _No time to think_. The three crammed themselves into the vehicle, the oldest crawling in last and closing the door.  
Lucario quickly pushed down the pedal again, turning the car and  
trying to get as far away from the river as possible.  
"Alright," he said. "Which one of you is named Ash?"  
The female was the first to speak. "No, none of us are," she said.  
"Where are you taking us?"  
"I'm taking you all to somewhere safe, and then I'm going to look for  
Ash," said Lucario.  
The female spoke again. "No way! I may not know who you are, but if  
you're looking for Ash, I'm coming too!" she demanded.  
Lucario looked over his shoulder and at the three kids. No, none of  
them did look anything like Delia, so it must be true that none of  
them was Ash. And yet they were determined to find him...just as he  
was.  
"Alright...this isn't the time to argue anyway," said Lucario. He  
twisted the wheel and swerved the car around, heading back for the  
river.  
It didn't take any time for them to get back...and yet Lucario  
wouldn't let go of the pedal. "Um," started the youngest one. "You're  
heading straight for the river!"  
"I know that," said Lucario.  
The humans braced, not knowing what he, Lucario, was about to do.  
The edge of the river came, and the car flew straight over it. For  
about maybe two seconds, the vehicle was in mid-air...  
Then it crashed into the river...  
And yet it kept moving at the same speed as before.


	21. Chapter 21

**Yes, I know this did take a long time to make. Something big happened to me awhile ago that I wish not to talk about, so please do not ask. . .just know that it was big.**

**Anyhow, I finally got myself to write again after one hell of a long time, so I don't expect this to be as good as I hoped it would've been. There were a bunch of times where I was stuck with writer's block. . .and times where I just didn't have that urge to write anymore.**

**Well, read the chapter and tell me what ya'll think! Hopefully I'll move faster next time. . .whenever that will be. . .**

Inner Strength part 21

Ash quickly looked around for a door knob or a door handle of some kind on the door. However, all he could find was a flat-panel-looking object right in the center of the door.

Ash looked at the panel a bit more. . .then raised up his paw and tried to place it over the panel, but because of his height, Ash had to ask Bayleef to lift him up a bit higher so he could reach the panel.

When his paw was on it, the panel began to glow blue. A straight, thin, blue line went over Ash's paw, moving from the top and down to the bottom. After only a few seconds, the panel stopped glowing and the line disappeared, then a soft, negative-sounding beep was heard.

Ash told Bayleef to let him back down. "It must be a hand scanner," he said. _Well. . .what do I do now? I can't open the door, my paw doesn't have the right hand print._

"Ash!" urged Bayleef from behind, forcing Ash away from his thoughts. "I don't want to be just standing here when we know that we are being chased! Come on, lets go!"

"Just. . .hold on a second," said Ash. "I need to do this. Some friends of mine are in there."

"Who? How do you know that?"

"My friend Misty and Misty II," explained Ash, still looking up and down the door, trying to find some other way of opening it. "I know they have to be here because this is where they put me when I was here."

Now a bunch of questions welled up inside of Bayleef. "You where here before? When? What happened? Were you hurt? Are you a part of these people? Do you mean your old friend, Misty, is in there?"

Ash turned around, annoyed at her. "Yes! Misty is in there, along with another friend of mine! Now, if you will please help me find a way to open this door, Bayleef!"

Ash had not realized how loud he brought his voice up. Apparently, the tone and annoyance in his voice scarred Bayleef. . .She was giving him those same exact eyes that she had when he defeated that whole group of thugs and their Pokémon. The poor gal was even taking a few steps away from her trainer.

Ash saw this and tried to calm himself down, he didn't want to scare away his friend. . .especially not now when he needs her the most. "Bayleef. . .I'm sorry. . .I didn't mean to. . ."

Bayleef blinked and looked away. "It's okay. . .You're worried about your friends. . .that's all." She tightened the vines a bit around Xander's small body, just to make sure that he wouldn't have the slightest chance of falling off of her, but also making sure that the Pichu is still comfortable.

Ash sighed. There's no use. Might as well just hurry up and open this door. He turned around and faced the door again. He could try force. . .

With paws clenched, Ash pulled all of the little strength he had left from inside of himself. . .then threw his small, yellow fist straight at the door. There was a soft CLUNK as flesh and metal slammed against each other. . .but nothing happened. The door didn't magically open and not even a dent was to be seen from where Ash had just punched.

Ash dropped down to one knee, grasping his now throbbing paw, and yelled from the pain. Bayleef just shook her head. "I swear, Ash. Every single day, you just get even more clumsy and stupid. What are you expecting to do here? Break down the door?"

Ash tried to sustain his yell, but was only able to force it down into a loud groan. "M-maybe." Ash groaned again. "I fought all of those Team Aqua guys all by myself over there. . .so, I thought, maybe. . .I could do this."

Bayleef shook her head again. "I'm not sure why you thought you could do that. Look Ash, it's a metal door and probably is a machine, even I know that machines start acting weird if you just shock it."

"Shock it?" asked Ash.

"Yeah. You are a Pikachu now. How you became one, I don't know, but that's not the point. You should be able to use electricity, right?" suggested Bayleef.

Ash scratched the back of his head and looked away. This made Bayleef frown.

"Don't tell me. . ."

Ash sighed and shook his head. "I don't know how to use electricity. I've tried and tried again, but nothing seems to work! I just can't do it!"

Bayleef eyed Ash for a bit, then looked back at the door. She still had a hard time trying to believe that any electric type Pokémon had difficulty using electricity, even if it was Ash.

Well, if Ash can't do anything, then maybe she can. Bayleef unwrapped one of the vines that was around Xander and held it over her head, getting ready to slam it down.

But before she did. . .she quickly asked herself, _Should I do this? I mean, Ash's girlfriend is in there. As much as Misty was a friend to me, she still keeps Ash away from me. Then again, she is a friend. . .a close friend, both to me and Ash._

Before Bayleef could ponder it anymore, she slammed her vine against the metal door.

THUD.

Again, nothing happened. The door remained still. Bayleef sighed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Ash. . .there's nothing I can really do. . ."

Ash didn't know what else to do either, but he just would not let himself leave Misty and Misty II.

"There's gotta be something!" said Ash, raising his voice.

Bayleef just stayed quiet.

Ash tried to think. What could he do to break down that door? Maybe he just needed some more force. Before Ash knew it, his paw was fingering the button on his forehead.

_No! _Ash told himself. _You remember what Bob said! You've just about used all your's up!_

This was just getting Ash frustrated. He knew that there's got to be some way, but why can he not find it? In his frustration, Ash charged at the door once last time, his paw curled up into a fist.

The humans in the back screamed at the top of their lungs as the vehicle hit the water. However, the vehicle kept going, and it was going into the water at just about the same speed. It was almost as if it wanted to go into the river with everyone in it.

It did not take long for the vehicle to submerge itself. Once it did, no water leaked in and no air floated out.

Lucario looked out the widow, which immediately was covered with some red energy, sealing the break Lucario made to steal the vehicle. Outside as they sank into the water, the vehicle seemed to transform before Lucario's eyes as he watched it change into a submarine-like machine.

The humans stopped their screaming in the back once they finally realized that it was okay. However, it took the female a bit longer to find her breath to speak again.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "How did you know that this car could do this?"

Lucario almost chuckled to himself. "I didn't."

That seamed to freak the female out a bit.

"What?! You mean that you just drove into the water without knowing that we could all drown?" screamed the female.

Lucario looked over his shoulder and at the scared child.

"Well. . .it worked, didn't it?"

The female stared into Lucario's eyes, as if trying to look inside him.

"I swear. . .you remind me of—"

BANG! BOOM!

Lucario spun his head away from the frightened female and looked around the vehicle through the windows. More vehicles, similar to his own, were also diving into the water all around them.

The battle up on the surface must've noticed this, for as soon as those vehicles came into the river, they were pursued by other machines of war, but blue. Along with these other machines, as if the river floor was mad at all of them, great beams of blue light were fired at them.

Lucario turned the steering over to it's side, moving their vehicle away from some of the death-beams. The hell battle that he saw outside was now coming down here.

"What are these things?" shouted Lucario as he spun the steering wheel again to avoid yet another blue beam.

"It's Team Aqua and Team Magma," explained the smallest child behind Lucario. "They've always been fighting each other, but this is the biggest battle I've seen!"

The red vehicles in the water were scurrying about like little Rattata trying to find food. One vehicle ran right in front of Lucario just as another beam was fired. The beam slammed against the vehicle and tore it to pieces, causing the vehicle to explode right in front of Lucario and cover his vision with black, smoky water.

The black water stuck onto all of the windows of Lucario's vehicle. He couldn't see anything! He was blinded in the middle of the battle field! The three humans in the back reminded him of that.

"What to do, what to do, what to do?" Lucario said to himself, trying to stay calm.

"You're gonna crash!" shouted the female.

"We're not going to make it!" screamed the small child.

The oldest male just kept screaming.

Lucario held the steering wheel straight and slammed the gas pedal to the floor with his foot. Then, he pressed the red button again.

The vehicle lurched forward, going who-knows-how-fast. The inky water covering up the windows were slowly being wiped away from such speed underwater, but it still wasn't enough for Lucario or anyone else to see clearly.

BOOM! BANG!

The vehicle shook every time an explosion was let off somewhere outside them. Lucario had trouble keeping the vehicle straight.

BANG! BANG! POW!

The humans in the back were holding onto each other now, expecting to die.

Lucario looked over on the passenger seat. So used to was he seeing Delia's face looking back at him. She would be helping him up right now, she would be the one giving him strength, just like all of the times they spent together. Lucario had to fight himself to not let go of the steering wheel just to crawl over to the passenger seat. . .for there was no one there.

"Come on, you dumb dog!" shouted Lucario at himself. "This is your time! You can do this!"

BANG!

Either something hit them, or they hit something, but whichever happened, they got hit hard and it shook the whole vehicle drastically.

Lucario blacked out.

* * *

BANG!

It seemed that the whole place shook from a massive impact. Ash's charge at the door was quickly interrupted from this, causing him to trip. The impact even shook Bayleef a bit and caused her to stagger around.

Slowly, the shaking went to small vibrations, and then to stillness.

Ash got back up to his feet after his trip. He looked back up at the door he originally was charging at.

It was open. Not completely open, but a small portion that could be seen had slid to the side.

Ash's eyes widened. Whatever hit this place must've shook it so hard that the door opened! He ran over to the door and gripped the opening. Ash pulled and pulled and pulled, but it still would not move. "Bayleef!" he shouted. "Help me!"

Bayleef came over to his side, not saying a word, and unwrapped two vines that were around the oh-so-quiet Xander, and used them to assist in pulling open the door.

"On three, okay?" said Ash, still with both of his paws on the door. "One. . .two. . .three!"

Ash pulled with all of his might as did Bayleef. Slowly the door slid open, squeaking and screeching as it was forced to do something. As soon as the opening was big enough for Ash to fit his Pikachu body through, he ran into the room.

There, at the very end of the room, was Misty. She was sitting down, bruises and red bumps all over her, and watching Ash as if he were a dream. Parts of her Team Aqua uniform was torn and ripped up.

In Misty's lap was Misty II. She was still chained up and the poor Pikachu had wires and tubes and everything inserted into her, along with some bandage that was wrapped around where she was shot. Besides the bandage, Misty II did not look beaten up, as the human Misty did that held her, but she still looked to be in great pain and could hardly open her eyes.

Ash ran right up to the two of them. "Misty?"

It took Misty awhile, but then her eyes lit up and she reached over, grabbed Ash, and embraced him in a very tight hug.

"Oh Ash!" sighed Misty. "It's you! It's really you!"

Ash tried to say something, but her hug cut off his breathing and did not allow his words to come out of his mouth.

BANG!

Again, the whole place shook under everyone's feet. Bayleef staggered around a bit, but quickly regained her footing. Misty had to let go of Ash with one of her arms so she could post it out to her side, that way so she wouldn't fall with both Ash and the sick female Pikachu..

Now that Mist had to let him go, Ash finally spoke. "Misty, we have to get out of here! Now!"

Ash tried to jump off of Misty, but then felt another hand grasp him. He looked down at Misty's lap and saw Misty II. She had her paw on him, her eyes opened wide and staring. "Pika. . .Pika pikachu pi pikachu chu pi. . ."

"Of course I did," said Ash. "I came for both of you. . ."

Ash's ears perked up, as did Misty II's. There was heavy footsteps coming this way. . . and they were running.

Ash looked back at the door. Bayleef still didn't get inside the room. "Bayleef bay!" she shouted at Ash. The opening wasn't big enough for her.

"Bayleef, just run!" Ash shouted back. "They're after me, they wont follow you! Just run! Now!"

Bayleef looked at Ash's eyes for a little longer. . .then nodded, wrapped one more vine around Xander, and ran away from the approaching footsteps.

Ash leaped off of Misty's lap and was about to go out of the room when he noticed that Misty II's paw was still on him. "What? Not now!" he shouted.

But the female had to ask him something. In her own Pokémon tongue: "Wait! Where is our son?"

"Don't worry, he's okay! He's with my friend, Bayleef," reassured Ash. "Now lets go!"

"But. . .is he here? Is he in here?" asked Misty II desperately.

Ash paused. "Yes. . .but he's okay. He's with my friend that I can trust. Besides, they're after me not—"

"Ash! Don't you get it?" Misty II pleaded, leaning up and fighting the pain. "They're not after you! They're after him! Our son!"

* * *

Lucario slowly opened his eyes. All was fuzzy around him, nothing was clear to see. Moving his body was just out of the question for his mind, so he stayed where he was.

There was a voice. A soft, feminine voice far off in the distance. What was it saying? Was it calling his name?

"Delia?" asked Lucario, trying to find out who the voice belonged to. Now he can make out words coming from the voice. It was calling his name, but far off, almost as if down a long alleyway.

Lucario's vision was slowly coming to him. He could make out a few features around him, but not much.

The voice still called his name. Lucario still tried to call back and ask, "Delia?" The voice did not answer his question, but rambled on about something. . .going somewhere. . .getting out of someplace. . .then went back to calling his name again.

Finally, Lucario's vision was just about back to him. He could make out the face of a young girl in front of him. It wasn't Delia, but it was the girl that he had found when he was driving the vehicle he stole.

Lucario watched the human's mouth move, saying something to him. Was the voice this human girl?

The girl seemed to be getting annoyed at him. . .either that or panic-struck took in. She raised her hand in the air, then slapped it hard across Lucario's face. He felt that blow, and as soon as it was dealt, all of his senses came rushing back.

"Come on! Get up, Lucario! We have to get out of here!" shouted the female.

Lucario looked around himself. He was still inside the vehicle, but everything looked damaged and torn. Sparks were flying everywhere from the circuitry and the glass in the windows looked completely gone.

Lucario looked down and saw that water was rushing in from the back of the vehicle. The back was almost completely filled as the front was filled just about to Lucario's waist.

"Lucario!" shouted the female again, urging him to hurry.

Lucario looked up at her and saw where she had come from. The right front door of the vehicle was open. That must've been how she was in here to help him.

Lucario got out of his seat and crawled over to where the female was. She grabbed his paw and pulled him out of the vehicle. Lucario fell down to the floor of something. He quickly got up and looked back behind him.

The vehicle had pierced a hole into some metal structure that they now stood on. Water was rushing in through the vehicle and into the metal hallway Lucario found himself in. The older male and younger male stood next to the female, away from the vehicle.

"Lucario, we need to go now!" said the female again. "This place is filling up by the minute!"

Lucario looked down. Sure enough, the water was rushing in quickly. Already it was up to his ankles. He looked around for some sort of exit.

Behind him, he found what resembled a door at the end of this "hallway". Lucario didn't even turn to check on the humans and ran over to the door. Just as he has thought, the humans stayed close to his side and ran to the door right behind him.

Once they had reached the door, Lucario looked for some sort of way to open it. There was a lever in the middle of it. Lucario grabbed a hold of it and turned it with all of his might. It turned to the side and the door swung open easily.

"Quickly, everyone in!" Lucario urged.

No one stopped to question. Each of the three humans charged out the door, not taking a second thought for anything. Lucario was surprised that they didn't fight to get out.

* * *

"Sir! They're beginning to breach the outside hull!" said one assistant, reading what was going on from the computer in front of him.

"How much damage was taken?" asked Bob.

The assistant, along with the many other white coats in the parameter, checked and rechecked their monitors. Bob waited in the center of the room for the results.

BANG! The whole place shook. Bob tried to regain his footing as his assistants held on to whatever they could.

"What the hell was that?" demanded Bob.

The assistant directly in front of Bob answered. "It was another breach, sir! They're trying to get inside!"

"Sir!" shouted another. "We're taking in a lot of water from the southern hull!"

"Disengage! If one part of this building is messed up, it'll effect the whole thing," said Bob. The white coats nodded their heads and did as they were told. "And where the hell are my turrets?!"

"Armed and ready, sir!"

"What are you waiting for? Activate them now!" demanded Bob. "And I want our shields up and running! Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!"

One white coat typed a few keys into his computer, then touched a few things on his monitor, then said, "Disengaging sequence has now started. T-minus ten seconds, sir."

* * *

As soon as everyone got passed the door, Lucario reached over to close it behind them, but another hard, steel door slid down and covered the whole. Lucario had to retract his paw so that this new steel door wouldn't cut it off.

"T-minus ten seconds till disengage."

Lucario looked around him. The voice seemed to be coming from the ceiling, but no one was there. It didn't sound like it came from a human nor a Pokémon and it didn't even sound like it had any emotion at all.

Never mind that, there's not enough time. Lucario turned around and urged the other humans to follow him. He was just starting his mid-sprint when he heard the same voice count down from ten. "Ten, nine, eight, seven. . ."

The humans were trying to catch up to Lucario's jog, but even that proved to be too fast for them. _There's got to be a way to speed this up_, thought Lucario. _But how? I could carry some of them over my shoulder, but not all three and still be able to run._

"Six, five, four, three. . ."

"Something's happening!" shouted the little male.

Lucario stopped his running and turned towards a wall that he guessed was on more of the inside of this place then towards the water outside. He got in his stance, placing his paws about a foot away from each other on his side. From in-between Lucario's paws erupted a small, blue orb that slowly grew to the size of approximately one foot in diameter. Once his aura sphere was charged enough, Lucario threw it against the wall with great force.

The orb hit hard, sending smoke everywhere in the room they stood in. Lucario covered his eyes so the smoke wouldn't blind him and saw that the orb penetrated the wall, showing a large opening that led deeper into whatever this place is.

"Quickly!" urged Lucario to the humans, pointing to the hole in the wall. The smoke cleared quickly, so the humans were able to see what he was talking about and ran towards the hole.

First, the female climbed through the hole, then the young male, then the older male. Lucario was last to join them, but just as he leaped through the hole, a sheet of new metal slid over the hole, covering it up. Lucario was barely able to make it out with his tail still intact.

"Disengaging," said the voice from nowhere.

An odd sound erupted along with a giant shake that nearly knocked over Lucario and all of the other humans.

* * *

"They what?" asked Ash in shock.

Misty II took in a deep breath and looked up into Ash's eyes. "I and this human holding me overheard one of their grunts talking. They talked about trying to flood the world or something like that, but they needed something that was part human and part Pokémon. I then heard them talking about a Pikachu's child being the one they needed. I don't know why they think our child is the key, but right now that doesn't matter!" Misty II took another deep breath.

Ash realized now. It all made sense! Bob said that they needed something that was part human and part Pokémon, but he thought they were talking about him! Xander has his blood and Misty II's, so he fits! They weren't looking for Ash, but for Xander! Ash just sent Bayleef on a suicide run!

Misty II already seemed exhausted. "You need to go find our son and keep him safe."

"But," started Ash, protesting. "What about you? And what about my friend, Misty, the one that's holding you?"

Misty, still sitting down, heard what Ash said and answered his question for the female Pikachu. "I'll be fine, Ash. I know this place better than you do and I know that I can take care of myself."

"And I will stay with her," said the Pikachu in her own language. "She has taken care of me since she was also thrown in here."

"But. . ." Ash wanted to find a reason, just one simple reason for them to get out of here and be safe, but it seemed that no matter what he would say would make any difference to their choice in the matter. He sighed and nodded his head. Now was not the time to argue.

Out in the hallway, they could hear a feminine voice from an intercom somewhere saying, "Disengaging." The floor shook violently, toppling Ash to his side and shaking both of the Misty's down to the bone.

Soon, the place stopped shaking and Ash got back up to his feet. "I think that's our sign to leave now," he said.

Misty nodded her head and began pulling out the different tubes and wires all along Misty II's body.

BAM! Again, the floor shook, but not like last time when the computer voice said something. _They're still fighting outside_, thought Ash.

Ash heard the heavy footsteps continue to run his way. He turned and looked back at the Mistys. Misty was still trying to get Misty II out of her chains and everything, they can't fight right now. _If they wont let me help them get out of here, then maybe I can help protect them this once._

Ash stepped out of The Room. Immediately he was greeted by three large Aqua grunts.

The grunts paused in front of Ash. They knew this was Experiment 102, but a war was going outside. Should they stop and try to capture 102 or continue on their way?

Ash answered for them and leaped forward, his claws outstretched and his teeth bared.

* * *

Lucario short-punched one grunt in the gut, forcing him to lean forward and clutch himself. Lucario rolled over the bent grunt's back, dodging a very slow kick from a very big human, and landed on the other side.

Lucario side-kicked the bent grunt, pushing him into the bigger human. He charged an Aura Sphere in one paw and leaped towards the bigger human.

The bigger human was hit low from the hurt grunt, but the attack didn't cause any harm to the human so he just tried to push the grunt away, not looking up. When the human did look up, Lucario was already face-to-face with the human as he planted his Aura Sphere into the man's head.

The Goliath fell down hard, a large dent in his forehead.

Lucario landed perfectly on his two feet and calmly looked back at his companions.

"Lets keep going," he said and jogged off.

The female and two males followed closely behind Lucario, awaiting for him to lead them to their destination. . .wherever that may be. However, Lucario himself had no idea where he was going. He was simply. . .going. He didn't have a plan for this, but it just made him feel better if they continued to move forward.

"Hey! What's that?" asked the female, slowing her jog to a fast-walk.

Lucario looked and saw that there was a entry to a room up ahead. He sped up and entered the room.

Then he stopped.

The other humans tried to catch up, and when they did they noticed the sudden discontinue. "Lucario? What's wrong?"

Lucario didn't answer, but gazed forward.

The female followed his gaze and gasped at what she saw. The room they had now entered was relatively small in width, but quite big in length. It resembled a hallway in a way, only there were a couple monitors hanging on the walls and metal stations with odd assortments on them. However, it wasn't the room itself that the female and Lucario were looking at, but at the other Lucario at the end of this "hallway".

This Lucario, unlike most Lucarios, had yellow and black fur, a extremely rare trait for a Lucario to have. The shiny Lucario had its back to the group and seemed to be looking at something in a large, blue container in the middle of the room.

"Took you long enough," said the shiny Lucario. He smiled.

The female looked at the Lucario next to her and noticed that he did not smile back. . .but bared his teeth. "Go. . ."

The female paused, confused. "What, Lucario?"

Lucario didn't look over at her nor the other two males, but repeated what he said: "Go. . ."

"But, why? We need to stick together if we're going to find Ash and get out of here—"

Lucario cut in. "He wont let us leave."

That seemed to have made the shiny Lucario laugh. He turned around and faced the blue Lucario. "I do believe he is right. If you three will not let us resolve our sibling rivalry, I'm afraid that I cannot allow anyone to leave here," said the shiny Lucario.

"'Sibling rivalry'?" said the littlest male. "Does that mean. . .?"

"You are no brother of mine!" shouted Lucario, baring even more of his teeth. "What are you doing here? Why are you with these evil clan of humans? Did you join them?"

The shiny Lucario chuckled a bit then leaned against the glass, relaxing. "They found me. That's all there really is to it. Team Aqua found me, tried to capture me, couldn't, then asked if I wished to become one of their group. And I did."

"Why?"

The shiny Lucario pushed himself up off of the glass and looked straight at his brother. "They promised me power. They told me of this terribly god-like energy call 'Inner Strength' and taught me how to use it at will and how to harness it at will." He turned around and walked towards one of the monitors, looking at it out of curiosity. "Because of the species I am, I already had many advantages over this Inner Strength. It's really not that different than our Aura, just more deeper and much more powerful."

"Inner Strength?" said Lucario. "I 've heard of such a thing, but only through legends. It is forbidden energy, you will die if you use too much!"

The shiny Lucario smiled and looked back at his brother over his shoulder. "Is that a hint of worry I hear, brother?"

Lucario bared his teeth again. "You wont hear any sympathy from me! Not after what you tried to do to me and Delia!"

Shiny Lucario laughed again. "Oh, now that was fun!"

Lucario had enough. He lunged forward, Aura Sphere already ready in his paw, and jabbed the blue sphere straight at his brother's face.

The shiny Lucario dodged to the side easily and grabbed Lucario's arm. With amazing speed, he pushed his shoulder into Lucario's armpit and pulled the rest of his arm down, flinging Lucario onto his back on the floor.

"Ah, brother, brother, brother. What will I ever do with you?" said the shiny Lucario, looking down at Lucario. "Still as slow and weak as ever. Nothing has changed."

Lucario looked up at his forbidden brother and spat in his face. The shiny Lucario made a disgusted face and whipped off the saliva, then smiled again.

Lucario quickly got back up to his feet and got in his stance. He had managed to move right next to the blue tank and couldn't help but to look at what was in it. . .

"Lugia?!" exclaimed Lucario. Then, he started thinking about what his brother had said. "Wait. . .when you said that Inner Strength is not so different than Aura, what exactly can you do with Inner Strength that you can with Aura?"

The shiny Lucario laughed some more. "Finally putting the pieces together, are we?"

"You led Team Aqua to Lugia," answered Lucario to himself. "You used our Sight using Inner Strength to lead these humans to whoever they wanted."

"Bingo," said the shiny Lucario. "Now that I can use Inner Strength, I can see everyone's Inner Strength and with much more clarity and with much more of a distance than we ever could with our Aura. Team Aqua tells me who or what to look for and I do it. That's how I knew you were coming."

"Who else have you led them to?" demanded Lucario, still in his stance.

"Hm. . .no one really important. Just Lugia and two other guys."

"What 'two other guys'?"

"I don't know. Some freak show of a Pokémon with these psychic powers and some Pikachu."

The female human gasped and whispered something under her breath.

"All of you. Leave. . .now. . ." ordered Lucario.

"But we can help—"

"I said NOW! Go find Ash while I deal with this one."

The female looked over at the older male. He nodded to her and ran out of the room. The youngest one was soon to follow, but the female took a little longer to decide, then finally left.

"Ah, this will be fun, eh brother? Just like good old times!" said the shiny Lucario.

"The only time I recall is when you tried to hurt Delia!" shouted Lucario.

The shiny Lucario waved his paw around. "Delia, Delia, Delia, Delia! Is she all you talk about? If you ask me, I think you two were a little bit close for a trainer and Pokémon."

Lucario roared and lunged forward. He threw his paw forward, aiming for his brother's head, but the shiny Lucario's speed was amazing and he quickly dodged the attack. Lucario spun around and launched another jab, then a thrust, then a short punch, another jab, reverse punch, thrust, but his brother was able to dodge each and everyone of his moves.

The shiny Lucario grabbed Lucario's arm and twisted it behind his back, pushing it up to bring in more pain.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings, brother? Maybe if I said that your trainer was one hot slut of a woman it might make you feel better."

Lucario roared again. He slammed the back of his head into the shiny Lucario's face.

The stunned shiny Lucario let go of Lucario's arm and staggered back, gripping his nose. Lucario took this moment and grabbed the shiny Lucario's head and slammed it into his knee cap. From there, Lucario punched his brother into the gut, then round house kicked him into the side of his head, then finishing off with a spinning side kick directly at the shiny Lucario's chest.

The last kick had much more power in it and threw the shiny Lucario across the room, slamming his body against the wall. Monitors that once hung there were now destroyed and broken thanks to the shiny Lucario's body clashing against them.

Lucario returned to his stance and charged after his fallen enemy's body. However, the shiny Lucario lifted up his paw and charged up, not a blue sphere, but a yellow sphere and shot it at Lucario.

Lucario had blocked many Aura Spheres before back in the day. While still running, Lucario raised up his paw to block the upcoming shot, but somehow the yellow sphere went completely through his block, knocking his body backwards. The whole world seemed to be spinning around as Lucario fell right back to his back.

The shiny Lucario got back up to his feet.

"See the power, brother? Almost undefendable when fired upon that all cower before it!"

Lucario jumped back up to his feet, readying two Aura Spheres while he did so. "Two can play at this!"

Lucario fired the two Aura Spheres at the shiny Lucario. With a swift motion of his arm, the shiny Lucario not only blocked the two shots, but deflected them straight back at his brother. Lucario remembered such a move and copied it himself, deflecting it back towards his enemy.

The two continued to deflect the two Auras with one another, but each time the spheres were deflected, they would move slightly faster towards whoever the next target was. Soon, Lucario began having trouble keeping up, so he thought that adding one more sphere would mess up his brother. So, with lighting speed, Lucario deflected the two spheres once more and threw another sphere at his brother.

The shiny Lucario didn't deflect the spheres this time, but moved his body to the side, dodging the first two, and caught hold of the third one. He threw it straight back while shooting off three yellow Inner Strength spheres right behind it.

Lucario blocked his sphere and dodged the first yellow sphere, but was hit hard by the other two. The shiny Lucario quickly followed up this attack and drove his shoulder into his brother's chest, knocking the wind out of him. The shiny Lucario caught hold of his brother by the neck and threw him at the blue tank across them. . .the tank holding the legendary Lugia.

The tank cracked and Lucario slid down off of it. He looked back up at his brother, anger deep in his eyes.

"This will take awhile. . ."

The shiny Lucario smiled down at him and stood in his stance, urging his brother to come.

Lucario jumped up to his feet and launched a glowing paw at the shiny Lucario, aiming towards his nose. The shiny Lucario swept the attack away with a simple stroke of his left arm and countered with his right elbow on Lucario's stomach.

The attack hit Lucario hard, forcing him to stagger back.

_How can I beat him? Somehow he's gotten much faster and stronger than before. Every time I lay a paw on him, he's already two steps ahead of me! _Thought Lucario.

Lucario roared and attacked again. He swung his now glowing paw toward the side of the shiny Lucario's head, which was just as easily blocked. Lucario expected this and followed up with a powerful round house kick toward the side of the shiny Lucario's stomach.

This attack finally hit, flinging the shiny Lucario back to another wall, destroying other random computers and monitors alike.

The shiny Lucario smiled and got back up. "Very good, brother. You used a distraction! It looks like you just might have learned something after all these years after all!" He sneered. "But remember: such a move only works once against a good opponent. Now, lets see if you can keep up with this!"

The shiny Lucario flashed out of sight. Lucario gasped and quickly looked around, trying to find his evil brother.

Suddenly, Lucario felt something enormously hard slam against his cheek, causing him to spin. Then the same invisible force hit him again on the ribs, then on his stomach, then into his back, and then straight onto his nose.

Lucario fell forward to the ground, trying to stay up on his arms. The invisible force came again, this time kicking him high into the air. Then, in the air, the shiny Lucario flashed back into sight and kneed Lucario while he was suspended, sending him flying back to the wall that held the blue tank.

Lucario crashed into some mechanical equipment, piercing his skin and tearing his fur. He slowly got back up to his feet.

_He's using Extreme Speed on me! _Realized Lucario. _The only way to see him and possibly counter his attacks are to match his speed, but I don't know if I can go that fast for so long in this condition._

The shiny Lucario smiled and flashed out of sight again. Lucario quickly used Extreme Speed as well and also flashed out of sight.

For a whole two seconds, the room seemed to be empty. If someone where to look in the room, they wouldn't have even guessed that two Lucarios where in it at that point.

Then. . .CLASH!

The two Lucarios reappeared, attacking each other at the same time and velocity. Then, just as soon as they had reappeared, they had disappeared. Again, another clash as the two hit, then they were gone, then back again hitting each other harder than before, again they left, and again they attacked.

Lucario filled up his paws with his aura while he attacked. The shiny Lucario blocked and tried to counter such powerful attacks by filling his paws with Inner Strength, trying to out power his brother.

Now, with the two filling themselves up with aura and Inner Strength, whenever they reappeared and clashed, a flash of blue and yellow would explode, leaving a wisp of green smoke behind in their wake.

Lucario finally laid his aura-filled paw on his evil brother's chest and followed up with another direct hit into his cheek. The two attacks pushed the shiny Lucario out of his speed, returning him to visibility.

Lucario slammed the heel of his foot onto his evil brother's chest, flinging him to the ground. Lucario jumped on top of his brother, putting his brother's body between his legs and continuously began to slam punch after punch over his face.

The shiny Lucario wasn't getting up anytime soon with all of these blows. Lucario kept slamming more aura filled paws on his brother's face, making him bleed badly and bruise everywhere. A left hit forced his face to turn violently to the side, spilling blood onto some nearby broken computer monitors.

But this just got the shiny Lucario angry. He roared loudly and opened his mouth before Lucario could land another punch and shot out a yellow beam of Inner Strength straight at Lucario's head above him. Lucario was barely able to get out of the way, but had to let go of his brother.

The shiny Lucario jumped up to his feet, all bloodied up and got back in his stance.

"Brother! You hurt me! You'll pay now!" shouted the shiny Lucario, already glowing yellow. Lucario noticed how his emotion completely changed from sure and cheerful to determined and angry.

Lucario looked at the shiny Lucario before him. . .He was bleeding everywhere, spots on his yellow fur were now pink. He defiantly was bruised and hurt everywhere and who knows if there's a broken bone somewhere. . .This was his brother, and he was killing him! They'll either kill each other or only one of them will die. . .Now Lucario felt pity on his brother and pushed aside all of his hate. They were family no matter what the shiny Lucario had done in his past.

"No! Stop! If you continue this, you will only kill yourself!" shouted back Lucario. "I may not know much about this 'Inner Strength' but I do know that it's power was never meant to be used so often!"

Lucario got out of his stance and looked at his beaten brother. "All energy has to come from somewhere, including aura. Aura is much more abundant, though, and was made to be used, but this Inner Strength was not!"

"Oh so now you worry about me?" said the shiny Lucario. "Now you worry about little brother? Took you this long, huh? It really took you this damn long to finally care about me?!"

The shiny Lucario turned his back on Lucario and stared at the wall ahead of him. "Do you know what happened when you left us?"

Lucario stood still, so his brother turned back to face him.

"Well? Do you?!"

"No, no I don't know what happened."

"Of course you don't! Remember how Dad wanted you to lead the herd? He wanted you to be the new leader, wanted you to get the best female, wanted you to choose where the herd should go next, wanted you to do and to get everything! And what did you do? You left! You ran away from all of us! You refused to pick a female, you refused where to take everyone, and you refused to be the leader and left! And did Dad choose for me to take your place? No!"

The shiny Lucario threw a yellow ball of energy towards Lucario. He dodged the ball easily and stayed where he was at. "None of those females were for me! They wanted me not for who I was but for what I was, they only liked my physical appearance and my would-be title, and I was never meant to be the leader of the herd. Dad wanted me to be the leader even when I told him that I didn't want it—"

"Shut up!" Another yellow ball was thrown at him, more lazily this time. "You wanted it, but you wanted to look cool! Wanted to look all macho and everything!" The shiny Lucario began to glow brighter this time and he advanced a step. "When you left and Dad still needed to pick a new leader, he chose someone else not of our family! He ignored my pleas for a female and my pleas to become the leader. It's in my blood too to become the leader!"

Lucario shook his head. "You proved your leadership when you persuaded me to fight those Alakazams when we were just Riolu." Lucario narrowed his eyes. "And when you tried to hurt my trainer. Dad saw it in your eyes of what you would become. . .and look at what you have become."

The shiny Lucario looked at his brother. At first, it seemed that he was about to become mad with fiery, but instead he laughed and shook his head. "All a leader needs. . .is power." He charged another yellow ball in his paws. "And I have all of that!"

The shiny Lucario lunged forward with his amazing speed and thrust forward the ball of Inner Strength. Lucario tried to block it, but his brother was too quick and slammed it in his chest. Lucario took the blow, staggering back a few steps. and quickly recoiled with his own Aura and slammed it back on the shiny Lucario who also just took the hit.

Then, they both began to glow. Lucario was blue while his brother became yellow.

_He's still too fast! _Thought Lucario. _How can I slow him down? Come on, think! When was he slowing down for you?_

Then Lucario remembered when he was able to first hit his brother. _He was holding onto me. . .so he couldn't move much! And when I pinned him to the ground, he couldn't move then either!_ Lucario also remembered how his brother's Inner Strength spheres were getting lazy. _The more he uses that energy, the weaker he must be getting._

The shiny Lucario was the first to move, his yellow glowing body becoming a blur with his speed coming into play. Lucario waited for his brother to come. . .and he did. . .with his foot to his face. But Lucario knew this was coming and grabbed the shiny Lucario's foot as soon as it landed and swung it around, swinging his brother around as well. The shiny Lucario can't move now that his leg was being held onto.

Lucario swung around twice more, then threw the shiny Lucario at the wall. He hit it hard, making a large dent in the wall, more monitors and other equipment falling to the floor. Lucario lunged forward before his brother could get back up and threw a few Aura-filled fists at his face. The shiny Lucario opened his mouth again and launched out a large yellow blast of Inner Strength at Lucario, pushing him off of him.

Lucario was also slammed back to a wall. That blast took a toll on him. He quickly got off of the wall and tried to get back to his feet, but as soon as he put his foot down, he heard a snap and fell down to his knees. His ribs hurt. . .probably broken as well. . .and his nose was bleeding badly.

The shiny Lucario slowly pushed himself off of the wall, but then fall straight down to his stomach. Lucario watched as his brother struggled to get back up.

_What have I done? _Thought Lucario. _This is my brother. . .we're just going to kill each other if we keep this up._

"Brother, stop!" said Lucario, breathing hard.

The shiny Lucario eventually got back up to his feet, then looked at his brother. "I'm done taking orders from you, big brother. Now. . .now I can tell myself what to do. . .and I say that you will die!" The shiny Lucario sprinted forward, much slower than before, but still very fast.

Lucario got up to his feet, getting ready to defend himself. His brother kept running forward, charging up yet another sphere of yellow Inner Strength in his paws. . .only much bigger this time. He leapt up into the air, yelling at the top of his lungs. . .

Then a large blue beam of light came out of the blue tank and hit the shiny Lucario, sending him through the wall across from the tank, creating quite a large hole in the metal.

Lucario jumped back as he saw his brother disappear. Water began to pour out of the tank where the mysterious beam came out of.

And Lugia stepped his massive body out of it.

At first, Lugia took awhile to open his eyes, but when he did, he took a full sweep of the room with only his neck and stopped when he saw Lucario.

_Who has awoken me? _Said Lugia, projecting his thoughts to Lucario.

Lucario stood there, frozen in fear. . .and pointed at himself.

"I-It was an accident," said Lucario.

Lugia took one step closer to Lucario, but because his body was so big that one step brought him face-to-face with the scared Lucario. The room that they stood in was much too small for the mighty Pokémon, so he hunched over, tucking his huge wings in tightly, but even then he was still cramped.

Then, Lugia bent his head towards the frozen Lucario. . .and used his huge tongue to lick the side of Lucario's face. Lucario winced in pain and from disgust. . .Lugia's tongue was very moist with saliva.

_I thank you for freeing me_, said Lugia.

Lucario wiped his face of the saliva and painfully nodded his bloodied up head. "You're welcome. . ."

Then, Lucario painfully walked over to the large hole Lugia had made. . .and looked out of it. There was a much larger room leading out there, but the room that they stood in currently was very high above the floor of the large room leading out. It was quite a drop from here to there. . .that along with the beam of energy from Lugia would've been impossible to survive from.

"Farewell, my brother," said Lucario. He turned around and walked away from the hole.

_You look hurt_, said Lugia. _Let me heal you._

Lugia reached his wings over towards Lucario. It took him awhile to actually stretch them out, but eventually he covered Lucario with his wings, then started to glow. After a few seconds, Lugia stopped glowing and uncovered Lucario, showing that his broken bones were healed and his bloodied up face was blood free.

Lucario looked himself over to see if he was truly healed. Nothing hurt, no weird sounds when he moved, he can move everything freely. Everything seemed better now.

"Thank you," said Lucario.

Lugia nodded, then asked, _You wouldn't happen to know where I am exactly, would you?_

Lucario looked behind him. He could hear nearby footsteps. . .and there were many of them.

"Um, to be honest, I'm not too sure myself, but can we talk while we go?"

* * *

Ash slammed his tail onto the Vaporeon's head. The water Pokémon fell down for the count, it was the last one.

Ash got to his feet, panting hard and sweating, but still determined and bared his teeth at the final grunt still standing.

The grunt was all out of Pokémon and all of his comrades around him either ran ahead or were knocked out. Fear gripped the grunt and he ran away, leaving his Pokémon behind.

Ash took a deep breath and fell down to a knee, trying to rest. He was able to hold back the grunts just long enough for both Misty and Misty II to get away. However, fighting three large grunts along with their Pokémon took a heavy toll on him.

He was still surprised that he actually took all three of them by himself. Yeah, he got really beat up from them and everything, but still. . .

Ash looked down at his arm that got scratched in the battle. . .or that was scratched. The once bloody cut was now completely gone, as if it was never there! Ash looked for his other bruises and cuts, but he could not find any that he had remembered gaining!

And that was when Ash remembered. He remembered when he first was here and they experimented on him. He remembered that all of his wounds that Team Aqua forced upon him healed quickly. Could this be an ability that he has had all this time?

But even with this ability, he was still very tired. This new Inner Strength that he was given is nowhere near as strong and as friendly as his original was. He has noticed that he was moving slower, that doing anything requires a little more energy, and that simple moves seem to be even more complex than they really are.

Ash took one more deep breath, then stood back up. Maybe those men that he just fought were just bad at battling. Maybe they were simply the lower branch in this organization. If so, then Ash just had luck on his side for that moment.

He looked around. Misty II told him not to worry about her, but he still did. He still wanted to run to wherever the girls went, but he knew that he had a new objective now: find Xander before Team Aqua did.

Ash started a slow run in a random direction. He didn't know which way to go, so he guessed. He noticed that the large shaking stopped, but the distant sounds of war still echoed outside of the base.

* * *

"Sir! We now have our turrets online and running along with our shields!" said one assistant, hunched over a touch monitor screen.

"Good," said Bob, clutching his arm. No blood was coming out of it, but it still hurt. "Keep them away for as long as you can. What is the update on the experiment's location?"

"Still unknown, sir," said another assistant. "It's positioning unit seems to be damaged somehow. Either that or we can't track it because of all of the metal in our own base."

"Very well," said Bob, siting down. "What about our key? Do we know if it is still with the experiment?"

"Still unknown, sir."

"Fine. Command all units that aren't engaged in the battle to go search for the key, forget about the experiment."

"Already done, sir. Everyone is out and moving."

* * *

Ash stopped to rest. He didn't know how long he has been running for, but he hasn't found Xander yet. He did come by a couple grunts along the way. Luckily, he was able to get around them without being seen, but there seems to be more and more of them by the minuet.

Ash took one last breath, then slowly ran forward. He eventually ran into an enormously large room. It's walls were all made out of metal, of course, and there didn't seem to be much in it, just space.

Ash saw a door at the very end of the room and ran over to it. Took some time to get across the width of such a huge place, but he eventually did and opened the door. He entered the room, closed the door behind him. . .and gasped at what he saw.

The room he now stood in was much, much smaller than the one he just exited from. It had enough room for only a small handful of people. There were monitors, buttons, lights, switches, and other stuff that one would see on a science fiction film everywhere. But what caught Ash's eyes wasn't the equipment. . .but a large glass tube.

At the back of the room, almost taking up half of the space with all of the mechanical equipment surrounding it, was a tall tube filled with some sort of clear liquid inside of it.

And resting inside of it. . .

Was Ash's old powerful friend. . .

Mewtwo slept within the liquid filled glass tube.


	22. Chapter 22

**First off before I start this story, I would like to apologize for how extremely long this chapter took. I have been very busy these past months, and I will admit that I just had times where I simply did not want to write or had no urge to. I also had some major writer's block again once I finally made myself write again.**

**Again I am terribly sorry for such a delay in the creation of this final chapter.**

**And before we start, I would like to dedicate this story to some people that have really helped me. They have helped me throughout the making of this story. These people have cared for me, given me ideas, given me very good feedback, and have simply been great friends.**

**I dedicate Inner Strength to my friends Alyssa, Preston, Adam, Josh, Krista, Coshi, and Scott.**

**And to my Nonnie.**

**Rest in piece, Rosalie. May 13, 1927 - August 7, 2010.**

Inner Strength part 22

Ash stood there, staring at the powerful Mewtwo in both shock and awe. How is it possible that he was in here? Obviously this had Team Aqua written all over it. . .but it still amazed Ash that they were actually able to capture Mewtwo.

First thing's first, Ash needed to free Mewtwo from that liquid chamber. Who knows, maybe Mewtwo could really help Ash find his son and put a stop to Team Aqua.

Ash started looking around the room. There had to be some kind of switch or button that would release Mewtwo. Well. . .he did find a button. . .or buttons would be a better word. The room was completely filled with different colored buttons of all shapes and sizes along with levers and switches. Ash didn't know which one to choose or press. . .so he chose them all. Ash started running around the room, pressing everything that he saw and flipping anything that could be possibly flipped.

The lights in the room quickly began flashing red and the monitors began to buzz, writing across their screens in big, red letters "Warning!" Ash tried to ignore all of the distractions and continued to randomly press buttons.

Finally, Ash found a large button and slammed his paw on top of it.

By the time his paw landed on it, Ash went right on to whatever else he could possibly press. . .none of the other buttons seemed to do what he wanted them to do, so it never even occurred to him to look back over at the tube that concealed Mewtwo.

Ash made his way around the room, pressing buttons all along the way, making a lot of noise in the process, and finally made it to were he stood directly in front of Mewtwo.

BOOM!

Ash felt a huge surge of energy fly throughout the small room, causing him to also fly straight to his back on the floor. The computers around him screeched in a loud, high pitch sound, then exploded into a million pieces. Ash had to cover his eyes to make sure that none of the glass or metal pieces would get him.

Eventually, all calmed down. The computers were all destroyed with their pieces everywhere, so their sounds were no more. Ash lowered his paw and looked up at where the glass tube used to be.

There Mewtwo was curled up in a ball, floating in the air. The glass tube around him was now everywhere on the floor around Ash.

Slowly, Mewtwo uncurled himself. . .and laid his feet on the ground. . .then he opened up his eyes and stared at Ash. Mewtwo's eyes shot wide open as soon as he recognized the figure in front of him.

_It can't be. . .impossible. . ._ said Mewtwo.

Ash flinched. Each syllable Mewtwo spoke felt as if they were shot straight into his head. It didn't hurt or anything, it just felt. . .weird. . .like trying something out for the first time.

Ash stood up on his feet in front of Mewtwo. "Yes. . .it's me, Mewtwo. I'm Ash Ketchum."

Mewtwo's eyes stared down at Ash's new Pikachu body from head to toe. He seemed to be having just a little bit of trouble trying to understand what was going on. Ash wanted to help at least a bit to clarify everything, but he was low on time as it was. "I know, I know. I'm a Pikachu and everything, but it's a long story. Look, I really need your hel—"

He couldn't breathe. Ash grasped at his neck, but couldn't feel anything. Some invisible hand was chocking him with so much force that Ash was desperately gasping for air. He started clawing at his own neck, trying to find such a hand, but all he was clawing was only air.

Then, Ash was lifted into the air in front of Mewtwo. Mewtwo's hand was outstretched towards where Ash was now floating, his fingers curled as if they were grabbing something.

What was going on? Why was Ash choking? Why can he not breathe? Why was Mewtwo just standing there doing nothing but having his arm stretched out? Ash was having trouble putting two and two together.

_I've been waiting a long time for this. . ._said Mewtwo mentally. _I don't know how or why you are here or how you got into such a pathetic body. . .but now I shall receive my revenge._

Ash now understood what was happening. Mewtwo was trying to kill him! But why? What did he mean by "revenge"? Ash thought they were friends. He tried to say something to Mewtwo, but only small gasps was all he could make with Mewtwo's psychic choke on him.

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed at Ash, anger swelling deep within him. Then he raised his arm up a slight degree, Ash's floating body mimicking his every move, and flung his curled fingers right open. Ash's body flung backwards, his velocity so great with his force so enormous that his body actually slammed through the metal door right behind him. He continued to fly backwards through the air in the much larger room outside of Mewtwo's room. . .and finally fell down to the floor near the middle of the room.

He gasped for air and rolled to his side. Now Ash could finally breathe, but going through a metal door did some major damage to his spine and shoulder. He took a few deep breaths and waited for his body to heal like it's supposed to. Sure enough, he heard his spine crack back into place. Ash screamed in pain, but quickly calmed down as the pain went away.

Ash looked back at the door to Mewtwo's room. The door had a clean Pikachu-sized hole in the middle of it. Then. . .the door lurched forward, breaking its hinges clear off. The door moved about a foot forward, then was flung over to the far side of the room with much speed. Mewtwo stepped out of the room before Ash.

Ash propped himself up on one arm while he tried to get back to his feet. His body still needed to heal a bit more. "Mewtwo! What are you doing? It's me! Ash Ketchum! Don't you remember?"

Mewtwo narrowed his eyes again. . .then took another step forward. Ash felt his mind being invaded as Mewtwo spoke. _Yes, I remember very clearly, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. I remember every single detail of both of our encounters_.

Ash slowly rose to his feet. "Then way are you trying to hurt me?"

Mewtwo chuckled once. _I wish not to hurt you. . .my only wish now is to kill you._

"But why? After all we've been through? Remember when I helped you fight off Team Rocket?"

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed once more. _Yes I do remember. . .and now I have realized who's fault is to blame for that. _Mewtwo closed his eyes, as if trying to clam himself down. _Do you know how long I have been in that. . .that. . .prison?_

Ash didn't say anything back, but just shook his head.

_While you were going on with your life, these low life humans somehow managed to capture me_, started Mewtwo. _I have recently come to find out that they used some Lucario to find me. Anyway. . .I was forced to stay in that small incubator of a prison for at least two years._

Ash wondered about that Lucario Mewtwo was talking about. Could it be that Lucario he was following out in that forest? But two years? Mewtwo was captured by Team Aqua two years ago?

_All that time, I've been thinking_, said Mewtwo._ I've been thinking about how this could all happen and why it happened. . .and eventually I realized that it was because of you._

"But why me? Why are you blaming everything on me?" asked Ash.

_Isn't it obvious? _Called Mewtwo, practically shouting in Ash's head. _When you came to the top of that mountain that fateful day, who else was with you? Team Rocket! You practically invited Team Rocket to where I and my fellow clones dwelled. When you came to my island, the first time we met, you stopped my storm from consuming this pitiful planet and bringing true peace for all eternity._ Ash tried to object and asked what he was talking about with that last part, but Mewtwo interrupted._ And how could have this new "Team Aqua" have found me? No one knows of my existence. . .except for you._

Ash took a small step back. "Mewtwo. . .whoever told you all of these lies. . .none of them are true! I would never let anyone find you! You are my friend!"

Mewtwo narrowed his eyes once more and shot out his arm towards Ash. Again, Ash felt that invisible hand clasp around his throat, cutting off his breathing. His body flew through the air and landed in Mewtwo's outstretched hand. . .now around Ash's throat. Mewtwo pulled Ash close to his face, then said, _We are and have never been allies. And these "lies" that you call were never told to me. . .I found these truths myself!_

Mewtwo pulled Ash away, then threw him across the entire room, both with his physical force and his psychic force. Ash's small Pikachu body flew through the air, making everything turn into a blur for Ash's vision, and only stopped when he slammed against the metal wall on the far side of the room. He felt another crack as his spine popped out of place again, then slid off of the wall and onto the ground. The metal wall left behind a large, ripped open hole, but not clean through, just through the first layer of metal.

Ash tried to get back to his feet, praying that his back would heal again. It did. . .but it felt slower this time.

"Mewtwo, please. . ." started Ash. "I don't want to fight you."

Mewtwo snorted and narrowed his eyes once more._ I wouldn't want to fight me either._

* * *

May was moving at a slow jog ahead of the other guys. Everywhere looked the same to her, whether they came into a new room or hallway or whatever, they all looked exactly the same to her.

She stopped to take a quick breath and let Brock and her brother catch up. "Do either of you know where we are at?" she asked as they came closer.

Brock jogged over, breathing heavily. "Not a clue, May." He placed his hands on his knees and looked around. "I keep thinking that we are just running in circles."

Max was soon the catch up, his young body not as athletic as the others. He stopped and also rested on his knees once he got close to Brock. "Do we even know—" Max had to take a few breaths before continuing. "—where we're supposed to go?"

May leaned against the wall and looked at her brother. "Didn't the professor tell us where to go?"

"I can't remember," said Brock, standing up straight. "My mind is just a big blur right now."

May laid her head against the wall. It seemed hopeless. How were they to help Ash when they don't even know where to find him? How could they even imagine stopping Team Aqua when they don't even know where to go or how to get around their base?

"What do you think happened to Lucario?" asked Max, also standing up.

"I don't know," responded May, shaking her head with her eyes closed. "I don't know anything right now. I don't even know what we're supposed to do now."

Then to answer May's question, a THUD vibrated through the walls. May could feel it coarse through her body since she was touching the wall. As soon as she felt it, she quickly got off and got to her feet. "Did you hear that?"

Brock and Max didn't answer. They just looked at each other, then at May.

May quickly ran towards where she heard the noise from. She went through a small hallway which led into a very large room. She paused once she saw how big it was. . .and caught her breath when she saw who was in it.

There on the far side of the room, almost to the point to where it was difficult to see the two figures, was Ash in his small Pikachu body. He was on the ground, trying to stand back up to his feet. Behind him was a wall with a deep dent on it. May could also see another figure, but she had never seen it before and didn't know what it was. . .but she could tell that it was angry at Ash by how it looked at him.

Max and Brock ran next to May and also caught their breath once they saw the two. However, Brock seemed to be more surprised.

"Mewtwo?" said Brock.

May look over at him. "Who?"

"Mewtwo," repeated Brock. "That's Mewtwo over there!"

* * *

Ash got to his feet and backed up, trying to stay away from Mewtwo. What has gotten into him? Was he really going to fight Ash?

Ash noticed something off the corner of his eye and saw May out in the distance who was soon accompanied by Max and Brock.

Mewtwo must've noticed that Ash was looking at something, for he followed Ash's gaze and also spotted the three trainers. He made a grunt of annoyance and lifted his hand towards them. _I will not have any interference, _he said.

Ash didn't know what Mewtwo was going to do, but he knew it couldn't be good. He yelled out at Mewtwo to try to stop him. . .but it was useless.

Mewtwo waved his hand across the direction May, Max, and Brock were. Immediately a thin, transparent, violet wall rose up in front of the three trainers. May ran up and pounded on the wall, but her hand just ricocheted right off it, causing only a small ripple of violet waves to spread out on the wall which quickly faded away..

_There_, said Mewtwo, turning his head to face Ash.. _Now. . .where were we?_

Before Ash could blink, Mewtwo lunged forward, grabbed Ash by his neck and threw him up across the entire room. Ash's small body flew through the air, helplessly hitting the wall painfully. A thin layer of dust exploded into the air once the Pikachu made impact.

Mewtwo lunged into the air, quickly following Ash. He flew through the air, his hands turning dark purple. He yelled and slammed his purple hand into the dust where Ash hit the other wall. The dust lurched away, almost as if scared of such power, and revealed a deep hole in the metal. Ash was hanging onto the side out of it.

Mewtwo yelled in rage and pulled out his hand. Ash grabbed the side of the hole and flung himself up to the upperside of it as Mewtwo slammed another hand towards him. Mewtwo slammed again at Ash and again he maneuvered around it by holding onto the hole. Again Mewtwo slammed a purple fist at Ash, this time quicker, and was able to hit him.

Ash flew again into the air and back to the ground, hitting it hard. He desperately tried to get up as he watched Mewtwo. The psychic clone dove down at him, levitating on the ground, and swung his tail at him. Ash was able to deflect the attack with his Iron Tail, but soon realized that it was just a distraction for one of Mewtwo's fists to swing back.

It hit Ash hard and pushed him back, causing him to stumble a bit, but he was forced to quickly regain his footing for Mewtwo just followed up with more attacks, this time quicker. Ash tried to dodge and deflect as many of those attacks as possible and was able to, but not for all of them. Mewtwo just swiped Ash's defenses away and spun around with his tail, hitting Ash right on his stomach with much force.

Again, Ash was flung into the air from such a blow, but Mewtwo raised his hand up, catching Ash in mid-air with his psychic powers, and flung him to the other side of the room. Ash hit the metal wall again, tearing through the metal and circuitry that was behind it, making sparks and dust fly about.

Ash rolled out of the hole just in time as Mewtwo lunged forward to try to slam another purple fist into him. Instead of hitting Ash, he hit the hole, making it deeper and making more dust fill the air, clouding Ash's vision.

Ash held onto the hole. . .and began to cry. He was dead. He's going to die. He was going to die right then and there. He almost wanted Mewtwo to hurry up and kill him. After all, how was he supposed to beat one of the most powerful Pokémon in the world when he can't even touch him? Tears poured down Ash's cheeks.

Then two glowing purple eyes shown through the dust, causing Ash to snap back into action and dodge roll out of the way, just in time as Mewtwo reached around with his other hand.

As he rolled out of the way, Ash got to his feet and began running. Just running. Running as far away from Mewtwo as he possibly could.

Mewtwo tried to follow the Pikachu, but realized that he could not move. Somehow his hand was stuck in the hole that he had created. He pulled at his hand, but it would not come out. In frustration, Mewtwo charged his hand that was stuck. The hole and the metal around it began to glow dark purple, then was replaced by a huge purple orb of energy. Mewtwo pulled out his hand, now holding the orb, and threw it at Ash, who was still trying to run away.

Ash turned around just in time to see the purple orb flying at who-knows-how-many-miles-an-hour towards him. He brought his two paws up to his face and closed his eyes. The orb hit Ash hard. . .but he was able to hold his ground. Just as Ray shot that huge beam at Ash when tried to protect Xander and Misty II, Ash was able to push this huge orb. Using all of his strength, Ash managed to push the orb away off to the side of the room. . .but then was quickly met by ten or twenty more, much smaller, purple orbs.

It was a distraction. Ash charged his Iron Tail and hit away maybe four or five of the orbs, but one got him on his side, quickly followed by the rest. They didn't feel good when they touched him. At first, Ash would've said that his skin was burning once the orbs touched him, but in mere milliseconds afterward, the pain was congruent to slamming a door on his finger. . .times a million.

The orbs caused Ash to fly to his back, skidding across the floor a bit. He tried to get up, but his body was having trouble trying to heal after so many major blows.

Mewtwo looked at Ash and yelled in his head, _WHY DON'T YOU DIE?_

It was true. Any normal person wouldn't be able to take so many hits all at once. Ash wasn't sure if he should be thankful for that or not.

Mewtwo raised up his hand again. Ash felt his body raise into the air, then he flew through the air towards Mewtwo. . .who was waiting with another glowing purple hand.

As soon as Ash's body flew close enough to Mewtwo, the clone raised up his purple hand and slammed it against Ash's head, sending him straight down to the ground, ripping through more metal and circuits. Mewtwo snorted and reached down to pick Ash out of the new hole. . .but was surprised when a yellow claw dug its way into one of his three fingers.

Mewtwo yelled in pain, pulling his hand away along with Ash who was still clinging onto it. Ash let go of Mewtwo's hand and fell back to the ground. He quickly followed up with an Iron Tail to Mewtwo's legs, then jumped up onto his chest, clawing at it.

Mewtwo yelled again in pain and grabbed Ash with both of his hands. Mewtwo's hands glowed purple as did Ash's body, then exploded in a dark, purple cloud. Ash went limp in Mewtwo's hands.

Then, Mewtwo rushed forward, his body levitating over the metal ground, and placed Ash in one of his hands. While still in very fast motion, Mewtwo slammed Ash into the metal ground that was flying by. He dragged Ash through the metal, still moving fast. Ash's body dug into the metal, tearing a large and long rip through the ground.

When Mewtwo finally reached the other side of the room, he pulled Ash out of the ground and slammed him into the wall, this time flying upwards doing the same exact thing. About halfway up, Mewtwo pulled Ash out and threw him straight up at the ceiling.

Ash hit the metal ceiling, the impact causing him to be stuck for a bit. His body got wedged in the metal that was bending around him. After a second or two, gravity got hold on him and he began to fall down to the floor. However, Mewtwo quickly got in the way and was about to hit him back into the ceiling, but Ash deflected the attack, the momentum keeping him in the air. Mewtwo kept attacking in the air while Ash kept defending, using the force of Mewtwo's attacks to propel him back in the air.

Mewtwo whipped his tail towards Ash, just to have Ash hit it away with his own tail. Mewtwo spun around and aimed a purple claw at Ash, who dodged it, fell on Mewtwo's head, and jumped off of his head to stay in the air. Their mid-air fight continued for some time. . .until Mewtwo caught Ash and whipped his tail around, causing Ash to fall back to the ground.

Ash fell down hard, making yet another hole in the floor. Mewtwo wasn't just trying to beat Ash, he was really trying and wanting to kill him. Ash could tell that Mewtwo would not stop until one of them were dead. . .and Ash wasn't too far from that right now.

Mewtwo, still in the air, brought his two hands close together, forming another dark orb. Ash tried to get back up to his feet, but changed his mind halfway to roll over to the side as the orb flew right to where he was at before. He quickly got up to his feet, flinching in pain as his still healing legs tried to work. He turned and began to run, more dark orbs flew at Ash as he ran, acting more like artillery shells than orbs of energy.

One got a little too close to Ash, making him loose his balance and fly to his stomach. Mewtwo flew down and tried to grab Ash before he could stand up, but Ash's momentum allowed him to flip back up to his feet and push Mewtwo's hand away with his Iron Tail.

Knocking Mewtwo's hand away opened Mewtwo's entire chest, so Ash leaped up and slammed his Iron Tail across Mewtwo's chest, then dug his claws in the psychic's face. Mewtwo yelled out in pain, not with his mind, but with his voice this time. Ash had never heard Mewtwo actually use his voice, but he realized probably now why he never used it...Mewtwo's scream sent shivers down Ash's back.

Then, Mewtwo's entire body began to spark with purple electricity which shot up to Ash. Ash had been shocked many times before thanks to Pikachu, and he thought that because he is a Pikachu now that it would probably hurt less, but this electricity wasn't exactly electricity...and it hurt.

* * *

Two Team Aqua men were typing frantically on two different computers in a small room.

"Alright," one said to the other, but mainly to himself. "I'm sending a message to Bob that we now have control over the battlefield. Team Magma can't get pass our guns."

"That may be true," replied the other, not leaving his eyes from his monitor. "But then why are we still taking damage?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, look here," the man pointed to something on his monitor so the other could see. "Team Magma may be busy with our defenses, but somehow we are taking major damage from the inside."

The other man looked at what he was talking about. His eyes narrowed and shot straight up. "According to this, we're getting beat up in the room right in front of us. Quick, open the windows!"

The man nodded and typed a few things on his keyboard and pressed Enter. Right in front of the two men, the metal wall slid away from them, spreading apart to reveal two glass windows looking out into a much larger room.

"Dear God!" cried one of the Team Aqua men, seeing what was going on in that room. He saw a Pikachu desperately fighting off a large, hominoid Pokémon. "Mewtwo has escaped! And it's fighting Experiment 102! They're the ones tearing this place inside out!"

The other looked over at his comrade. "Sound the alarm?"

His comrade nodded and was about to press the alarm button when he heard a voice.

"I am sorry, but I cannot allow for either of you to do that."

The voice did not sound like it was from a man or a woman. Both of the Team Aqua members turned around to see who it was. A tall person dressed in a completely black cloak with a black hood was standing before them with its hands behind its back.

"Who are you?" demanded one.

Artemis raised up one of his hands and slowly waved it over the two men, saying "Sleep. . ."

Immediately the two men passed out and fell to the floor. Artemis walked over the passed out men and over to the computers that they were just working on. He began typing on both computers, one hand on each keyboard.

* * *

Lucario leaned against the wall with Lugia slowly squeezing his way behind him. Lucario looked around him, but everything looked at same as all of the other rooms before.

"What's the use? This place is too big! I can't even find those kids anymore, nonetheless Delia's son," said Lucario.

_I don't know, I think this place is pretty small_, said Lugia, still trying to squeeze his huge body through a corridor.

Lucario managed to chuckle at that, but quickly became moody again. "Are you sure that you can't remember anything about this place? Where everything is or anything?"

Lugia shook his head, which nearly made him slam his head against one of the walls next to him. _I am sorry, friend, but I have told you before, I remember nothing after these humans captured me._

Lucario sighed, then heard something. His ears twitched at the small sound. . .the on instinct, he started running towards where he heard the sound, but then stopped and looked back at Lugia. The massive Pokémon was still struggling to get through.

Lugia saw Lucario looking at him. _Oh, don't worry about me, I'll go a different way. There has to be at least one room that can fit me._

Lucario nodded and continued on towards the sound. He ran for awhile, then finally came to a small room. The blue Pokémon looked in the room. . .and froze. There were two humans passed out on the ground, both were dressed in Team Aqua uniform, but that's not what Lucario saw first. He saw a tall person wearing a complete black cloak typing on two computers at once.

Lucario knew who this was. His paws balled up in fists as anger flowed through him. "ARTEMIS!" He charged toward the man in black with an Aura Sphere already ready in his paw.

Artemis didn't even look behind him to see Lucario. He just raised up his right hand and Lucario was flung straight back with some invisible force to the wall. And Artemis continued typing.

Lucario tried to get off of the wall, but something was holding his arms and legs down. He pulled at his invisible strains again, but he just could not break free of them.

"It's good to see you too, old friend," replied Artemis, not leaving his eyes from his two computers that he was still typing on.

Lucario roared at Artemis. "I am no friend of yours!" Lucario struggled again, trying to get out of the invisible grips that held him to the wall, but again it was no use. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Artemis, still not looking back at Lucario, said, "I am getting some of Team Aqua's data on Ash. They did some amateur tests on him, but the information seems to be worthwhile."

Lucario's eyes opened up wide as soon as he heard Ash's name. "Wait. . .you know where Ash is?"

"Well I never said that, but I do, yes," replied Artemis. He stopped his typing for just a moment to point out of the two windows. Lucario looked out of the windows and gasped at what he saw. A small Pikachu was being beaten to a pulp by some weird looking purple Pokémon.

That's when Lucario remembered what his brother had told him. _I don't know. Some freak show of a Pokémon with these psychic powers and some Pikachu. _"Wait," said Lucario. "I thought you said you knew where Ash was."

Artemis nodded and continued typing. "I do, and I pointed out there."

"But there's only a Pikachu and. . . something else out there."

Artemis sighed. "He is called a 'Mewtwo' and it's the Pikachu you're looking for."

"What do you—" Then Lucario knew what was going on. That Pikachu wasn't really a Pikachu. . .that was Delia's son! Lucario yelled at Artemis, "You did this, didn't you?"

Artemis typed a bit more before answering, then a disk popped out of one of the computers. Artemis grabbed it, placed it inside of his cloak and turned to look at Lucario. "Yes I did, and I must say that this one has given me much more information than you did."

"Shut up!" shouted Lucario. "It was because of you that this all started! It's probably because of you that Ash is down there!" Lucario looked out the window into the big room. Ash was constantly being grabbed and thrown to each corner of the room by the creature Artemis called Mewtwo. "Let me go so I can help him!"

Artemis shook his head. "I cannot let you interfere. This is his fight, not yours."

"But he's dying! Look at him!" pleaded Lucario. "Let me help him!"

Artemis stood there, silent. Instead of answering Lucario, he ignored him. . .and turned back to the window, watching the fight.

* * *

Ash parred another attack of Mewtwo's but then was hit with another dark orb. His small body flew back into the wall again, creating a deep crater. Before he could even climb out, Mewtwo slammed Ash with another dark orb, making the crater even deeper, and Mewtwo didn't stop. Mewtwo followed up with more attacks, slamming Ash with one hit after another. Ash had no way to defend himself from any of the attacks since he was just digging deeper and deeper into the wall.

However, one of Mewtwo's hits somehow pressed the button on Ash's head. Ash could feel his energy being sucked out of him and into a large blue orb in front of his head. Ash remembered that it was orange before, but maybe since Bob gave him the fake Inner Strength, it is blue now.

Mewtwo paused once he saw the blue orb. He didn't know what it was until it shot out at him, pushing him with much force to the other side of the room.

Eventually the beam stopped and vanished, leaving Ash still there on the wall. Ash just fell onto the floor. Didn't Bob tell him something about Inner Strength draining him of everything or something? Ash felt terribly weak. He was weak before, but now he couldn't even stand up without his body screaming in pain. _I've used too much. . . _he thought.

Ash tried to look up to see if Mewtwo was still alive, but his vision was starting to blur. He staggered forward, towards where he was guessing Mewtwo might've landed, but ended up bumping his head into another wall.

No. . .it wasn't another wall. It was the same wall that Mewtwo has just dug Ash into. Ash could see some of the cracks and dents that came from his hole. He had just walked in a complete circle! Instead of walking away from the wall, Ash had unknowingly made a one hundred eighty degree turn back into the wall.

Ash breathed in and realized that he was gasping for air desperately. Had he been holding in his breath this whole time? Or has he been breathing this hard and just now noticed it? Either way, Ash could tell he was tired. His small body ached from so many injuries, even though most of them healed, and the ones that haven't healed stung like there was no tomorrow.

The Pikachu hybrid slumped down against the wall and sat down on his bottom. He was just too tired to get up and he took this rest, for as long or as short as he possibly could.

Then he heard the psychic.

_ASH KETCHUM!_

The mental words were so strong and filled with anger that Ash's head felt like it was going to burst. Those two words rattled Ash's mind so much the for a second he couldn't remember what just happened. When he could make out a purple blur in the distance, Ash automatically remembered what was going on.

* * *

Lucario strained against the invisible straps that held him in place, yelling out in frustration. "Artemis! Let me go!"

Artemis didn't even turn around to face Lucario. Instead, he continued to watch the fight through the window.

Lucario strained even more, but soon gave up. It was no use. He looked out the window and saw Ash. The poor Pikachu had used up some of his Inner Strength and now he was walking in circles. Lucario looked over to his left and saw Mewtwo. The psychic was walking away from his crash sight, madder then ever. Ash had no idea what was about to come to him, for he just sat down from exhaustion. He was defiantly going to die unless he does something. . . or unless Lucario does something.

"Please, Artemis. . . let me help him," begged Lucario.

At first, Artemis didn't respond, but then he did turn around and face Lucario. He looked up at the blue dog's face and saw. . .tears. The mighty Pokémon was crying.

"And why should I?" asked Artemis, looking up at Lucario. "If I even let you near Ash right now, then this entire experiment will be ruined. I will never find out how powerful my potion is if someone else interferes."

"But Artemis! Look out there right now! Ash is going to die!"shouted Lucario. "Your potion has failed, can't you see? Now please, Artemis! Let me help him before it's too late!"

Artemis seemed to be trying to stare down Lucario, but his eyes were still not visible so it was hard to tell. The hooded figure then turned around and faced out the window, watching Mewtwo advance towards Ash.

"Have you ever heard of the saying 'it's never too late'?" said Artemis, not looking back at Lucario. Lucario didn't say anything, but just hung there on his invisible straps, crying his eyes out.

"Do not worry. . .he will live."

* * *

Ash laid his head against the wall behind him, breathing hard. He didn't know what happened to Mewtwo, but right now he didn't really care. All he wanted to do right now was to just sit there. He just wanted to sit there forever until the day he died.

Which probably wouldn't be that long.

Mewtwo walked up to Ash, looking down at his beaten and bruised body. He reached down and picked up the Pikachu from his neck and lifted him up to eye level. Mewtwo roared in Ash's head and flew straight up, carrying Ash with him.

Mewtwo flew up to the ceiling, slamming Ash against it, making yet another large metal hole. Ash's head seemed to have cracked from the impact. Mewtwo pulled Ash out of the hole, spun around, and re-slammed Ash back into another section of the ceiling. Then, Mewtwo pulled Ash out and threw him straight down to the ground.

As Ash fell, his life seemed to have flashed before his eyes. He saw his mother, Delia, from when he was born, he saw Pikachu on his first day being a trainer, he saw Misty being mad at him for her bike, he saw Brock from when he was defeated. . .all the way up to the point of when Xander was born.

Xander. . .what was he going to do? Ash was going to die and Xander will be. . .fatherless. . .just like Ash.

What kind of father will Ash be? He is no better than his own father if this is really the end!

The ground shattered Ash back into reality. Clouds of dust spread up, covering Ash for just a second, then revealed a pit with Ash in it. He looked up and saw Mewtwo, still in the air.

Mewtwo raised up one of his hands and formed another orb of dark energy. He yelled out and flew straight down, still holding his orb.

Ash hard someone scream. He couldn't tell who it was from, but it was defiantly from different persons.

Mewtwo quickly came down, moving at an amazing velocity. It took him mere seconds to get to the ground and shove his dark orb deep into Ash's stomach. Ash yelled out in pain, looking up at Mewtwo.

Mewtwo kept his hand on Ash's stomach. It didn't seem like any physical damage actually happened. . .until Ash coughed. First it was a dry cough, then sounded wet. . .then sprayed red blood on Mewtwo's cheek.

Ash coughed up blood.

Mewtwo narrowed his eyes and wrapped his fingers around Ash's stomach. He lifted him up and slammed him back on the ground. . .and continued to do so.

_HURRY! UP! AND! DIE!_

Mewtwo went on slamming Ash back into the ground for awhile, making a crater all the while.

Finally Mewtwo stopped. He looked down at Ash, breathing hard from being tired himself.

Ash was motionless. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. His wounds were no longer healing. . .and his chest was no longer rising from his breathing.

Mewtwo didn't wipe Ash's blood off of his cheek. He just got up and looked over at May. She looked horrified, her face was filled with tears. Mewtwo looked the other direction. . .and realized that May wasn't the only one that screamed. It was Misty. She was also crying her heart out, all while carrying something yellow in her hands. There was also a Bayleaf with her. . .along with a. . .Pichu?

Mewtwo looked down at Ash's dead body, then looked over at May and everyone else. _Now it is your turn. . ._ he said.

* * *

"NO!" yelled out Lucario. He pulled his arms and legs, trying to free himself, but again to no use. "Artemis! You killed him! You let him die!"

But Artemis was motionless. He stood there, still looking out of the window. Lucario yelled out an insult to Artemis, but he still just stood there. . .as if in a trance.

* * *

Ash looked around. He was in a dark room, completely black all around him. He couldn't see anything except for his own hands. . .which were. . .human. He was back in his old body?

"Am I. . .uh. . .dead?" said Ash, mainly talking to himself.

"Well, yes and no."

Ash turned around. Before him was the well known Artemis, still wearing his black cloak and hood. "Artemis?"

Artemis walked over to Ash, keeping his hands behind him as he walked. "Yes, it feels like a long time, doesn't it?"

Ash looked at him, then back down at his hands. "So. . .am I really dead?"

Artemis laid a hand on Ash's shoulder and stood before him. "Yes and no. Mewtwo was able to physically kill you, causing your heart to stop pumping and your lungs to stop breathing, but right before your body died I took your subconscious and placed it in my own mind. This is no different then our other encounters from when you were asleep."

Ash looked at Artemis. "So then. . .I am dead." He looked around at the darkness of Artemis's mind. "And. . .this is where I will be for. . .ever?"

Artemis made a motion with his head that looked as if. . .he grinned underneath that hood. "No, no, Ash. I just brought you here to give you something."

"Give me something?"

"Well, I suppose that I am not giving you something, but activating something within you," explained Artemis.

"What do you mean?" asked Ash.

"I'm going to put you back into your body and you will have to fight Mewtwo," said Artemis.

Ash quickly back away. "But. . .how? I cant beat him! He's too strong! I don't even know how to use all of my abilities!"

Artemis patted Ash's back. "I know. Mewtwo is a very powerful Pokémon, but that will change once you return to your body."

"How?" asked Ash.

Artemis paused for a second before responding. "Do you know when people show their true strength?"

Ash shook his head.

"See, Ash, a person's true strength. . .their inner strength, if you will. . .shows once someone becomes desperate. A mother seeing her child in peril has been recorded to be able to lift whole cars. Remind you of anything, Ash?"

Ash paused. He remembered the time when he heard Xander say his first word. . .daddy. . .and somehow he was able to take out a whole group of Team Aqua grunts.

"I guess so. . ." said Ash.

"I have seen this and tested this before many times," said Artemis. "And I have noticed that being desperate can also happen once being close to death."

"Death?"

Artemis nodded. "Yes, and that is why you are here, Ash. You have seen death before yourself, so now your true inner strength will be activated." Artemis waved his hand through the air. "You will now become faster and stronger, you will feel lighter, your reflexes will increase tenfold, just about everything you can think of will become much easier to do."

"But," started Ash. "What about my Inner Strength? Mewtwo pressed the button on my head and used it up."

Aretmis waved his hand again. "Your natural Inner Strength will fully return to you. That is what I have given you."

Ash was surprised. "You can do that?"

"I can," answered Artemis. "Now, you have to go. Mewtwo needs to be stopped from his rage before he kills someone else."

* * *

Mewtwo removed his barrier that kept May, Brock, and Max away from his fight. He slowly walked towards them. _Any friends of Ash are enemies to me_, said Mewtwo, forming two more dark orbs, one for each hand.

May and the other two guys backed up. They turned around and started to run away, but Mewtwo formed another barrier right at their exit.

Mewtwo began walked towards the humans, staring at them darkly.

But then. . .there was a slight shuffling. . .from behind the psychic.

Concerned, Mewtwo turned around to see where the odd sound came from. . .and it was from Ash's crater.

The Pikachu hybrid raised up his yellow paw, grabbing onto the edge of the metal crater.

"Mewtwo. . ." wheezed Ash. He slowly pulled himself out of the hole, and stood up on his feet. He wiped some blood off of his mouth, then looked at Mewtwo. "Don't touch them. . ."

Mewtwo froze in place, his two orbs pulsing in his hands.

_It can't be. . ._

* * *

Lucario's heart leaped for joy as he watched Ash stand back up. He brought his paw up to his face to wipe off his tears. . .then realized that he wasn't restrained anymore! He leaped down and walked over to Artemis.

"What did you do?" Lucario asked the hooded man.

Artemis turned his head towards Lucario. "I waited for something to happen," he answered.

Lucario was confused. He wanted to ask more, but decided not to. Instead, he looked out the window and watched Ash. "You're still not going to let me help him. . .are you?"

Artemis looked back out the window. "Trust me, you'll soon see that he wont be needing your help."

* * *

Mewtwo narrowed his eyes and yelled in Ash's head, _How many times do I have to kill you?_

Mewtwo launched both of his dark orbs at Ash. They flew through the air at surprising speed straight towards the Pikachu. . .and yet somehow they moved every slowly to Ash. He casually stepped to the side, dodging one of the orbs, then lazily got down to all fours, dodging the other orb.

Mewtwo was breathless. May and Brock couldn't believe what they just saw.

Ash got back up and dusted himself off. "Wow. . .I feel. . .great!"

That enraged Mewtwo. Angrily, he flew towards Ash. Ash saw him coming, but his mind started to. . .calculate? Suddenly Ash could tell how fast Mewtwo was moving, the different possible attacks he would be performing once he reached him, and even what other possible counter attacks Ash could use for each of Mewtwo's attacks. Ash could even calculate when and where to perform the counter attacks, and it all was flashing through his mind in mere milliseconds.

Mewtwo lunged in, swinging his paw down at Ash, who just side stepped out of the way. Mewtwo swung his other paw down, but Ash quickly avoided that one just as easily. Mewtwo then turned his body around and swung over his tail. Ash held out his paws and caught Mewtwo's tail as it swung around, digging his claws in.

Mewtwo wailed in anger and pain. . .and realized that he couldn't move his tail. Ash was still holding it!

Ash yelled out and pulled Mewtwo's tail, pulling along Mewtwo's body with it. He swung Mewtwo around and threw him clear across the room, slamming him against a wall.

The psychic dug into the wall, but quickly blasted out and flew towards Ash, landing a dark orb on his head. Ash yelled out in pain and Mewtwo picked him up and threw him across the room, but before the Pikachu could hit the wall, Mewtwo caught him with his psychic powers, flinging him the opposite direction.

Ash hit the wall hard, but his body quickly healed from the impact. He leaped back up to his feet and charged at Mewtwo, but Mewtwo lifted up his hand and grabbed Ash by his neck using his psychic powers again and flung him to the other side of the room.

Again, Ash hit the wall and fell down to his feet. _I still can't get close to him when he does that_, thought Ash. _There has to be a way to avoid it!_ As soon as he said that, his mind began to calculate again, contemplating all of the events that had happened before. Every time Mewtwo levitated Ash, he would look at him and point his hand towards Ash's direction.

_That's it! _Thought Ash. _He has to see me to concentrate on levitating me. If he can't see me, or doesn't have enough time to concentrate on me, then he wont be able to use his psychic moves against me!_

Ash got up to his feet and charged at Mewtwo again.

Again, Mewtwo stared at Ash and lifted up his hand. . .but then Ash disappeared. Mewtwo lowered his hand and looked around, but was greeted back a glowing tail. Ash had reappeared and slammed Mewtwo on the side of his face with an Iron Tail.

* * *

Brock gasped, watching the fight. "Did Ash just do. . .Extreme Speed?"

"I think so!" said Max from underneath. "Either that or a very fast Quick Attack!"

May just held her breath, resting her hand on her chest.

* * *

Mewtwo roared and flung his arm around, but Ash had disappeared again. Mewtwo's fist was greeted with nothing but thin air.

Then Ash came back to vision, slicing his claw across Mewtwo's face, then moving quickly to get out of sight. He came back again, slamming Mewtwo with an Iron Tail, just to fizzle out of sight again after the attack.

Mewtwo was growing impatient. He kept flinging his arms everywhere, shooting dark orbs in random directions, trying to hit Ash, but each one missed. Each attack was soon met with another one of Ash's attacks.

Finally, Mewtwo wailed out and filled his whole body with dark electric-like substance that exploded outwards, spreading everywhere around him. This did hit Ash, returning him to normal speed and visibility.

Mewtwo lunged at Ash, throwing at him orbs of energy and physical attacks. Ash moved quickly, dodging each of Mewtwo's attacks with ease, then counter attacked with another Iron Tail to Mewtwo's face. The psychic staggered back, gripping his face and yelling in pain inside of everyone's minds.

Then, Ash ran to a spot only a foot away from him. He quickly ran back to his original placing, but then ran back to the new spot, and continued doing so, increasing in speed with each lap. He soon began to move so fast, that the two spots he would go to were the only visible places to see Ash. It looked as if there were two of him!

* * *

May gasped, finally talking. "Ash is using Double Team!"

Max watched, his glasses sliding off, but he didn't seem to notice. "It looks like it, but I have never seen a Double Team move performed like that!"

* * *

Soon, two Ashes became three, then four, then five, then six! There were six Pikachus before Mewtwo! The psychic didn't know which one was the real one, so he fired an orb at the first one that was in his sights. That Ash just fizzled as the orb passed through him, and he returned to normal vision soon after.

One Ash pointed at Mewtwo, calling for the others to attack. All six of the Ashes charged at Mewtwo, all attacking at the same time and at different directions.

Mewtwo tried to fight them off of him, but whenever he would grab one, his hands would pass through nothingness, only air behind. He even tried to use his psychic abilities to grab one, but the same thing would happen. All of the Ashes were all clawing, punching, kicking, biting, doing something to Mewtwo. The psychic wailed in pain again and exploded once more with his dark electricity.

This proved to be somewhat effective, for all six Ashes flew off of Mewtwo, five of them disappearing.

Now, it was Mewtwo who was tired. He weakly raised up a badly bruised and scratched arm towards Ash, but Ash quickly leaped up, climbing on Mewtwo's arm, trailing his claw against Mewtwo's skin as he moved. Ash punched Mewtwo's neck, then swung behind it, grabbing his second neck. Then, Ash jumped off of Mewtwo with both of his paws grabbing Mewtwo's second neck and pulled him straight down, using all of his strength.

Mewtwo flipped over Ash like a sack of potatoes, doing a complete five hundred and forty degree turn, landing right on his back on the floor. The wind was knocked right out of him, and Ash jumped up on Mewtwo's chest and swung around an Iron Tail to slice Mewtwo's neck. . .

But stopped right before his own glowing tail touched purple skin.

Mewtwo was breathing hard, opening his mouth for more air. He looked down at Ash, keeping his head up away from his tail. _Very well, you win!_ Yelled Mewtwo in Ash's head. _Now finish me! Strike me down so I will not have to live with this defeat._

Ash was also breathing in deeply, but not as tired as Mewtwo. He stared down into Mewtwo's eyes, his tail still almost touching his fragile neck skin. . .and pulled it away.

"No. . .I wont kill you," said Ash, still on top of Mewtwo. "You just know that I am not the enemy here. This fight should have never have happened, Mewtwo. These lies that you have made up for yourself are exactly what I say they are: lies! I am your friend, Mewtwo! I always have been. . ." Ash hopped off of Mewtwo. "And I always will be."

Mewtwo laid there for a second. Ash watched the psychic's chest raise and lower for what seemed like forever, then finally the purple being sat himself up. _You're a fool, Ketchum. . ._was all Mewtwo said.

* * *

"He. . .he did it," breathed Lucario, realizing that he was holding his breath the entire time.

Artemis turned his head towards Lucario. "I told you he would. . .why did you doubt me?"

"Well. . .eh. . ." Lucario scratched the back of his head, trying to grin to buy some time to find an answer. Aretmis just shook his head and turned around.

"Now it's time for me to leave," said Artemis, walking towards the door.

Lucario watched him walk away, then called for him to stop. "Artemis." The hooded figured walked up to the doorway, then stopped. . .but did not turn his head back. There was a long pause between the two. Lucario balled up his paws and spoke to Artemis, trying to stay as calm as possible. "I still hate for what you did."

Aretmis turned his head only slightly and said, "For what I did? Who's choice was it originally?" Lucario was about to say something, but Artemis raised his hand quickly, cutting him off. "You may help Ash now if you wish."

And with that, the hooded, cloaked figure walked away.

Lucario stood there for a second, pondering. What he was pondering, not even he knew. Maybe just realizing what Artemis had said.

Lucario walked out of the room and looked outside. Artemis was no where to be found. . .no one could be that fast. Then, Lucario remembered Artemis's permission to help Ash. He rushed out and ran towards where he guessed would be the direction to that huge room Ash was in.

* * *

It took Mewtwo a long time to stand up. With every movement he took, he winced in pain, but over time he was able to finally get to his feet. He staggered around at first, but soon regained his balance. He looked down at Ash and sniffed. _You call me a friend. . .even after I tried to kill you?_

Ash nodded. He looked up at the psychic and was about to say something when he heard Misty yell out.

"Ash!" she shouted.

Ash turned and saw them on the other side of the room. "Misty?" Then he saw Bayleaf with Xander on top of her. "Bayleaf? Xan?"

"Ash! Ray is coming!" Yelled out Misty, running over to Ash with Bayleaf close behind her. She held something yellow in her arms. . .but Ash did not pay much attention to it.

"What? Ray?" asked Ash.

He was soon greeted with the answer. Out from where Misty and Bayleaf had came out of, a whole group of Team Aqua grunts pilled out all carrying large guns and weapons of all sorts.

Ash yelled to Misty and Bayleaf, telling them to get behind him and with May and the others. They did so without hesitation. Ash looked up over at Mewtwo. "Can you still fight?"

Mewtwo looked over at the many grunts and their weapons. Many of them had what looked like cannons on their shoulders. _I don't think I can in my current condition_, said Mewtwo.

Ash looked behind him at his friends. There was May, Misty, Brock, Max, Bayleaf, and his son, Xander. "Then protect them," said Ash to Mewtwo.

Mewtwo looked at Ash for a second, his eyes unreadable. He sighed and staggered over to Ash's friends, limping on one foot and holding one of his arms.

Ash turned back to face the Team Aqua members that were pilling in. They all had their sights on him and only him. Did they even notice Ash's friends on the other side of the room? Well if not, then Ash considered that to be a good thing. They can shoot at him all they want for all he cares, with this new power he has he was sure that this will be an easy fight.

Just then, one of the grunts fired a large blue beam right at Ash. Ash was about to dash to the side. . .but then realized that his feet felt like lead. Instead of leaping to the side, Ash just fell down to his side. The shot missed him, yes, but only barely. Ash could smell burnt fur that must've been from him. _Why am I suddenly so slow? I was moving with crazy speed with Mewtwo!_ Thought Ash.

Then Ash remembered Artemis's words._ "A person's true strength. . .their inner strength, if you will. . .shows once someone becomes desperate."_ Ash got back up to his feet. _Oh no! Now that I have beaten Mewtwo, I don't feel desperate anymore! _Thought Ash. This will not be an easy fight after all.

Then, Ray came into view.

"There it is!" shouted Ray, pointing a robotic finger at Ash. "Bob doesn't need 102 anymore, so fire at will!" Ray pulled out a pistol himself and took aim along with everyone else.

"No!" Just then, May, coming out from what seemed like nowhere, leaped in front of Ash. "Don't shoot him!"

All of the Team Aqua grunts starred at May for a second, looking at her through their sights. Ray looked around at everyone, then yelled. "What are you waiting for? Shoot!"

And with that. . .a blue beam of light exited Ray's barrel. . .

And hit May clean in the chest.

"No!" yelled out Ash. May's body went limp. . .and fell down to the ground. All Ash could do was watch it fall down. Once he came back to his senses, he quickly ran over to May's head. "May! Get up! Come on, May, get up!"

May's whole body was limp, her eyes were closed. . .and she wasn't breathing. The spot on her chest where Ray shot her was all torn. Her shirt had a clean, dark hole.

"May, please wake up!" cried out Ash again. When the girl still would not move, Ash slapped at her cheeks, desperately trying to get her awake. "Wake up, May! Don't die on me, please don't die!"

Ash felt tears well up in his eyes. May can't be dead. . .she just can't be. . .

Ray growled and cocked his pistol, but then realized that it was empty. "Damn two shot pistols. I thought it was fully loaded!" He tossed it aside and yelled at a near-by grunt to give him his.

Ash was crying his eyes out over May's dead body.

Not again. . .please not again. . .

First Misty II. . .

Now. . .May?

"Hey, don't just stand there!" yelled out Ray to the grunts. "Start shooting!"

"But, sir," said one, sitting on one knee with a cannon sized gun on his shoulder. "We were only supposed to have shot Experiment 102, not someone else."

"I don't care," yelled Ray again, aiming his new pistol at Ash. "If someone else gets in front of 102, then shoot to kill, got it?"

Ash looked up at Ray. No. . .it was him. Ray was the one that shot Misty II and Ray was the one that shot May.

Ray was the one that was going to die. . .

Ash got up and stepped over May's body, revenge filling his eyes.

"Now start shooting!" commanded Ray, firing the first shot at Ash.

The blue beam flew through the air, hitting Ash perfectly in the head. The shot landed, ripping Ash's forehead, revealing the chip in his head, but nothing more. Ray and the other grunts watched in awe as Ash took the hit. . .and continued walking.

Even Ray was surprised, but only for a moment. Again he yelled at his comrades, and they all fired.

Blue beams filled the air between Ash and the grunts. Each one of the beams hit their target, and yet Ash was still walking forward. His flesh was tearing apart, and yet it seem to not mind Ash at all. . .he still walked with that same vengeful stare. He was tense from anger, even Ray could see Ash's entire body tense up as the Pikachu walked. . .

Ash's head suddenly sparked to life. Yellow electricity filled up the wound on Ash's head, then shot out towards Ray.

The grunt flew back, hitting the wall behind him as electricity pulsed at him. Soon the attack stopped. . .and the other grunts noticed that in Ray's hands. . .

Was a microchip.

Ash's eyes began to flicker with static. He still had nothing but revenge in his eyes. . .but then they were replaced with flowing electricity. Yellow electricity began to pour out of Ash's eyes. The wound on his forehead along with any new ones were filled with electricity, but then the electricity started to dissolve away, showing a perfect body. Not a single scratch. . .or chip. . .

The Team Aqua members froze in place as they watched Ash's eyes fill with sparks. Nothing but anger and hate ran through Ash, and all of that negative energy was formed straight into electricity.

Ash yelled out and flung his arm out to the side. Electricity flung out with his arm, forming away from his hand but still connected to it. The electricity formed into a giant yellow electric arm complete with a hand and fingers. Ash flung out his other arm and the same thing happened: another electric arm connected with his. Ash then yelled out, curled his body up, then exploded with electricity. Yellow shock waves poured out of him, filling the room for just a second.

Mewtwo brought his hands up, quickly forming a purple wall of energy, blocking the electricity from getting to him or Ash's friends. Mewtwo yelled out, struggling against Ash's shock wave, trying to protect Misty, Max, and everyone else behind him. The purple wall of energy cracked, hardly holding together.

Then, Ash's shock wave stopped. Mewtwo breathed and dropped his hands, letting the purple wall disappear.

Misty looked at Ash and gasped. Ash was in the middle of a giant electric beast. It was completely made out of yellow electricity, standing up almost touching the ceiling. Ash was at the heart of the electric beast, electricity still flowing out of his eyes.

"But. . .how is that possible?" said Misty, not taking her eyes off of Ash's new form.

Brock was in awe as well. "I'm not sure. . .I have never seen Ash use any electricity. I was starting to think that he couldn't use it!"

Then the answer popped in Misty's head. "That's it! Remember when Pikachu got sick because he hadn't used his electricity in awhile? He had to let it all out eventually. Maybe that is what happened to Ash!"

"Yeah, but Pikachu looked like he had a cold, Ash never showed any signs of a cold," said Brock, having to yell above the crackling sound of electricity.

"Well, maybe it's because he's still part human," said Max, standing next to Bayleaf. "Humans don't have the same symptoms of a cold like Pokémon do. Maybe his body just wasn't sure of what to do, so it didn't do anything!"

Ash, towering above everyone inside of the giant electric beast, looked down at Ray. He roared in anger and slammed his paw down. The beast he was in mimicked Ash's every move, slamming a giant electric hand down on the Team Aqua members. They yelled and tried to dive for cover, but most of them got hit hard, the impact shaking the floor below them.

Ash yelled out again, slamming his other electric hand down on them. He did it again and again, not caring if they would die or not, shaking the whole building.

* * *

Bob grabbed hold of a computer, trying to steady himself as the floor shook beneath him. "What the hell is going on? I thought we had this war under control!"

One member was about to say something, but another earth rattling shake shook him wildly, causing him to fall out of his seat. Another one was able to hand on and started to furiously type on his computer. "It's definitely not Team Magma, sir. It's coming from somewhere inside." Another shake, causing the man to fumble on his keyboard, trying to find something to hold onto. "Something is wrecking the inside of the building!"

"What is?" demanded Bob.

"We don't know!" shouted another.

* * *

Misty stumbled over herself, the ground shaking beneath her. She looked down and saw the metal floor break open. It was cracking right underneath her!

Ash slammed another electric hand down and with that the floor would crack more.

"We have to stop him!" shouted Misty, leaning against the wall as Ash continued to slam the Team Aqua members to pieces. "He's going to tear this whole place down without even knowing it!"

Brock grunted, falling down to his knees. He looked up at Mewtwo, who was having even more trouble trying to stay standing. "Mewtwo, can you stop him?"

_I cannot_, answered Mewtwo. His voice was much fainter than before. _He has become blinded with anger, more so than I was. I can't fight him again in the condition I am currently in. I hardly have enough energy to block another attack like that last one. _Mewtwo looked over at Ash. _I have never seen such power come from anything!_

Bayleaf wrapped more vines around Xander on her back. The poor little Pichu was whimpering from all of the noise and ruckus.

Ash slammed another electric hand on the already unconscious grunts.

* * *

Lucario ran as fast as his feet would allow him, which in his case, was pretty fast. Suddenly the floor began to shake underneath his feet, staggering him off to the side and nearly causing him to trip over himself.

He stopped and laid a paw on a wall, leaning his weight against it. _What was that? _Lucario thought to himself. _That felt like it was coming from something. . .big_. Then Lucario thought about Ash. He might be in trouble!

Worry was what ran through Lucario's head then. He had to get to Ash now, but this place was so big and complex! It's impossible to navigate through!

Another jaw rattling quake pulsed through the ground. Lucario looked at his paw. He could feel the vibrations through the metal wall. It felt like it was coming from. . .behind this wall that he was leaning against.

Lucario didn't take a second to hesitate. He took a step back, brought his paws together to his side, and charged up an Aura Sphere. He yelled out and slammed his Aura into the wall, tearing through the metal like it was paper, but it only made a small hole. Lucario charged up another Aura Sphere and slammed that into the wall, then did it again, and again, and again until finally there was a clean hole big enough for him to squeeze through.

He leaped in the hole, finding himself in a narrow hallway. When another quake pulsed around him, he repeated his previous cycle on the next wall.

* * *

Anger. That was all that was in Ash's mind. That's all he could think of. If he were to stop and explain why he was angry or what he was angry at, he wouldn't be able to. He didn't even know why he was angry anymore, but he wasn't pondering that as he grabbed a Team Aqua member's body with his electric hands, throwing him across the room.

Rage might have been a better word for it. It clouded Ash's mind. He thought anger, saw rage, and felt hatred. These emotions flowed through him just like the electricity that came out of his very eyes.

Misty couldn't take it. She ran out and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Ash! ASH! Stop it right now!"

The giant electric beast paused and turned around. At first the Ash in the beast starred at Misty. . .but then he roared in anger and swatted her off to the side with a sweep of his electric hand, flinging her to the wall like a paperclip.

Brock protested along with Max, but then Ash looked at them. Ash yelled out again and raised up both of his electric arms, getting ready to slam them down on his very own friends.

Mewtwo grunted and raised up his hands, creating a purple dome above Brock, Max, Bayleaf, and himself.

Ash slammed his arms down, pounding on Mewtwo's shield. Mewtwo grunted, falling down to one knee from such a blow, but kept his hands up. Ash yelled and shot his hands out, shooting two giant bolts of electricity at Mewtwo's shield.

The purple dome cracked, causing Mewtwo to groan in pain. _I. . .cannot. . .hold this. . .for very long. . _.said Mewtwo, his telepathy even getting weaker.

Ash stopped and raised up his electric hands again. . .but then yelled out as a blue beam of energy shot at the electric beast's hip.

The wall to the side exploded with another blue beam coming out of it. Then. . .Lugia flew out of the wall and hovered in the air in the room. Because the room was so large, it was perfect size for Lugia to easily expand his wings and fly.

Ash roared as he saw Lugia and reached out to grab him. Lugia flew off to the side, his mighty wings beating the air. He opened his mouth and shot another blue beam at the electric beast, this time hitting it's shoulder, but all it hit was electricity. It opened a hole in the beast's shoulder, but the hole was quickly refilled with yellow electricity.

Ash yelled out and swung around an electric arm, hitting Lugia with a huge amount of electricity while also swinging him to the other side of the room. Lugia hit the wall, but quickly leaped out of it and fired another beam at Ash. He yelled out and swung another mighty arm, but Lugia maneuvered around it, firing another beam at Ash.

As Lugia and Ash fought, Mewtwo let his hands rest and fell down to both knees, exhausted. Brock looked over at Max. "Quick, go get your sister out of there while I go get Misty." Max nodded his head and ran towards the middle of the room while Brock ran to where Misty was.

The redhead was slammed onto a wall opposite of where Brock was. There was a small dent in the metal that Misty now laid against, her eyes closed shut and her mouth open.

Brock kneeled down next to Misty and softly shook her. "Misty? Misty! Come on, wake up!" It took her a few moments, the great battle still going on behind them, but soon Misty woke up, looking at Brock. The breeder saw that she was at least somewhat okay and grabbed her arm, lifting it over his head to help her up to her feet. "Alright, you're okay. Now lets get out of here!"

Misty didn't say anything, she just let Brock lift her up and walk her back over to where Mewtwo and Bayleaf where.

Max, on the other hand, was crying his eyes out. Once he made it to his sister's body, it was hard for him to even look at it. He tried to shake her awake, but she was still just as lifeless as before. Max began to cry, but he knew that he still had to get his sister's body to safety, so he grabbed her arms and started dragging her across the room, back towards Mewtwo.

Lugia fired another beam at Ash, hitting the beast and nearly hitting Ash inside of it. That just got him more angry. Quick lightning speed, Ash grabbed Lugia by his neck. Just holding him with his electric hands jolted pain throughout Lugia's body and the tightness of Ash's grip around his neck didn't help either. Ash swung Lugia around like a bat, slamming him against the walls and on the ground.

Max whimpered and ducked his head when Ash slammed Lugia down on the ground, nearly hitting Max. Luckily, nothing happened to Max and once he realized this, he continued to pull his sister away from the battlefield.

Brock brought Misty to Bayleaf and laid her against Bayleaf's side. He turned to look back at Max, seeing how much difficulty he was having and the position he was in with his battle. Brock ran out to Max to help him out, picking up May's dead body and telling Max to run back.

Ash slammed Lugia to another wall by his neck, then threw the mighty legendary across the room. Lugia hit the wall hard, then slid down to the ground. His whole body, that was once strong and beautiful, now looked weak and broken. Lugia looked up at Ash, firing another beam at him. The attack hit the beast, but it just watched Lugia, seeming to not even care that it's shoulder was gone. The Ash inside of the beast glared at Lugia, showing that he was only getting even more angry.

BOOM!

Then a blue sphere of energy blew out of the wall, hitting one of Ash's legs, causing him to stumble down to his electric knee.

Lugia, surprised, looked for the source. A great hole was in the wall, and Lucario leaped out of it. The blue dog panted for a bit, resting on his knees and shaking his head. He looked up from his knees and saw the electric beast, gasping in how enormous it was. Lucario quickly shot another Aura Sphere at the beast, hitting its shoulder. Lugia quickly followed, firing his blue beam at the beast, hitting its stomach.

Ash yelled out, staggering back a bit. He threw out bot of his hands, turning them into giant bolts of electricity that flowed out of him and straight towards Lugia and Lucario.

Lucario, having relatively more energy in him, leaped over to the side, dodging the attack, but Lugia was still tired and got hit head on from the electric blast.

"Lugia!" shouted Lucario, running over to his side. Lucario quickly turned around and was about to fire another Aura Sphere at the electric beast. . .but then he saw what was at its heart.

It was Ash. . .

Lucario stopped, extinguishing the Aura Sphere in his paws. "Ash?" he asked, looking up at the beast.

But Ash still only had one thing in his mind. . .anger. He roared again and grabbed Lucario with his electric hands, shocking and squeezing the life out of Lucario at the same time, then threw him against the wall.

Lucario slid down off the wall and onto his bottom.

Lugia looked over at Lucario. _Something has happened to him, _Lugia told Lucario telepathically. I _do not know what is wrong with him, but all I can sense is anger and rage. It has taken control of him and he wants to kill everyone he sees._

"But then what do we do?" barked Lucario. He got up to his feet and leaped over to the side just in time when Ash was about to grab him again. "We can't fight him. . .he's. . .he's Ash!"

_We have no choice! _Stated Lugia, getting up to his feet. _We have to defeat him. That might be the only way to calm him down! _Lugia flapped his wings and rose into the air.

"But. . .what if that kills him?" shouted Lucario, leaping to the side again as Ash swung around his arm.

_Then it's either he dies. . .or we all do, _said Lugia, firing another blue beam from his mouth at Ash. Lucario hesitated. . .but then shot an Aura Sphere as Lugia fired his blue beam.

The two shots did deal some damage to Ash, but the electricity quickly refilled itself and he only got madder. Ash was about to reach out his electric hands towards Lugia and Lucario again, but more shots went through him, this time from behind him. Stunned, he turned around, the holes quickly filling back up with electricity again.

It was the Team Aqua members. Some of them had survived and were shooting their cannon looking guns at him. Even Ray was up and shooting at Ash, yelling something over the crackling of electricity.

Ash's eyes flared up with even more electricity and he got ready another attack, aiming at the Aqua grunts, but then Lugia and Lucario fired blue beams and spheres at him. Ash roared and turned around, about to attack them, but the Team Aqua members fired again once he turned.

Soon, the Team Aqua members, Lugia, and Lucario were all shooting at Ash's giant electric beast. It was getting torn apart from all of the beams of energy going through him. First, his arm was shot away, then his leg, causing him to fall down to an electric knee. More and more of the electric beast was disintegrating and there wasn't enough time for it to regenerate.

But this just got Ash even more mad.

Ash curled up into a ball, then flung his whole body open, yelling out in rage. The beast he was once in exploded, flinging electricity everywhere like a supernova. The Team Aqua members were flown back to the wall, electrocuted, as were Lugia and Lucario along with Brock, Max, Misty, Mewtwo, Bayleef, and May's limp body.

Mewtwo grunted again and raised up his hands as he was being shocked to pieces, creating the purple dome again, but as soon as it appeared it was quickly cracked. The purple dome held, but only barely. Brock's whole body twitched from such amounts of electricity. Once he realized that he wasn't being shocked to death, he shivered from the afterglow of pain. Max took deep breaths and looked down at his sister's body. May still had some yellow electricity crackling around her. . .then Max saw her inhale deeply, opening her eyes.

"May's alive!" shouted Max.

_Maybe not for long, though_, stated Mewtwo, still keeping his arms up. _Ash hasn't stopped yet._

It was true. Ash's electricty was continuously filling up the room, not stopping. Ash, himself, was hovering in the air, this electricity coming out of him like a waterfall.

* * *

Bob covered his eyes as a computer monitor exploded before him. The whole place was tearing apart. Electricity that seemed to be coming from nowhere was destroying everything around him. All of his associates were running around, screaming as everything went to chaos.

"Sir, the entire system is fried!" shouted one member, quickly shielding his eyes from the sparks that exploded out of the computer he was sitting in front of.

"Bob! We have to go! Now!" shouted another, not even caring to call Bob "sir" anymore. "We need to evacuate! This whole building is going down!"

And just as he said that, water burst into the room.

* * *

Pain. That wasn't even a good enough word to describe what everyone was feeling right now. Lucario tried to curl up into a ball, but that only made the nonstop electricity hurt more.

Hurt. That can't even explain what was being felt. Hurt and pain were words that described something small, like a paper cut or a broken nail. If someone were to accidentally get their finger caught in a door that was being shut, that would be a good time to use the word "pain".

But right now. . .what Lugia, Lucario, and even what Ray was feeling. . .it was not pain. It was something much, much worse. There isn't even a word in the English language that can describe what they were feeling.

Lugia tried to yell out, but the crackling electricity around him drowned out his voice, even mentally. Ray was clutching the wall, as if it would help him.

Mewtwo's shield soon cracked and caved in, his energy finally depleted. Ash's electricity quickly filled up the open space that contained his friends. Max, Brock, Misty, Mewtwo, and Bayleaf now all felt the enormous wave of "pain" or whatever word it could possibly be. Bayleaf, still holding Xander on her back, was smart and quick enough to completely cover him with her vines, not leaving any space on his tiny body exposed. For a split second, she worried if he would even be able to breathe underneath all of that, but when she felt Ash's electricity, all her worries went away.

Everyone thought of death. Even the Team Aqua members knew they were going to die. Lucario could feel his blue fur being burned off of his body along with the skin that was beneath it. Lugia could feel nothing. His nerves were now gone, so he felt nothing but he could see death.

Brock held onto Max and Max held into him and his sister.

Then, Misty crawled forward.

Brock was the first to notice this, and he tried to yell out to her, but his body wasn't even able to let out anything audible through such damage.

Misty, struggling through the bombardment of electricity, stood up and walked over to Ash. Every step she took, the more electricity she could feel.

Ash was still hovering in the air, his eyes still filled with hate and electric flow. Misty walked over to him, then fell down to her hands and knees from all of the electricity.

And somehow. . .she was able to talk. "Ash!" she yelled over the electricity.

Ash said nothing.

"Ash! Look at me!" Misty screamed, crawling closer to him.

Again, Ash just poured out more and more yellow electricity.

"Ash! Remember me? It's Misty!" she screamed, crawling closer, grinding her teeth together from the "pain". "I'm your friend, remember? This isn't you, Ash! You don't get mad like this!" Misty crawled closer. "You are loving! You are kind!"

Ash seemed to move his head to look at Misty, but the thunder in his eyes made it impossible to tell if he was actually looking at her.

"You care for everyone! You love your Pokémon and they love you!" screamed Misty. Finally, she had reached where Ash's feet floated in the air. "Come on Ash! Come back to us!"

Ash still didn't move.

Misty grunted and grabbed Ash's body. As soon as she did that, all of the electricity that was flowing everywhere just flowed straight into Misty's body. She began to glow yellow and she yelled out in pain.

"Ash! Please! Stop!" Misty cried, pulling herself up, still holding Ash. "I love you!"

Misty brought her lips to Ash's.

Even with the thunder coming out of Ash's eyes, he still looked shocked. Misty was still being filled with electricity, but she kept her lips to Ash's, kissing him like never before.

Then finally. . .the electricity stopped.

Misty breathed out of her nose and held Ash's head, still kissing him.

A bright white light erupted from between their lips that blinded everyone that was still conscious in the room. Soon, the light vanished.

Misty opened her eyes and pulled her lips away from Ash's. . .and she looked at the human face of Ash Ketchum.

Misty gasped and let go of his face. Ash's body went limp and he fell on the floor, his eyes closed. He wore no clothes except for his hat.

It took everyone awhile to finally come to their senses. Brock was one of the first to realize that electricity wasn't pounding at him anymore. He staggered up to his feet and ran over to Misty and Ash's body.

"Is he. . .?" asked Misty as Brock came over, still looking at Ash.

Brock fell down to one knee and checked Ash's pulse. "Oh, he's alive. He must be unconscious somehow," he said.

May opened her eyes and grabbed her head, groaning. "Uh. . .what just happened?"

Max looked over at his sister and hugged her tightly. "You're back, May! That's what happened: you're back!"

Just then, the building shook once more.

"What was that?" asked Misty, looking around.

Brock looked around as well. "Well, if that wasn't Ash, then. . ."

Suddenly, out of one of the many holes in the walls, water spewed inside, pouring in like a waterfall. Then, another hole spewed out water, and another, and another.

"We got to get out of here!" shouted Brock. "All of the fighting that happened here has torn this place apart! It's going to collapse at any second!"

"We're not leaving Ash!" stated Misty.

Brock nodded. "Alright, but I'm not carrying him naked."

Misty was about to argue, but when another spout of water poured in, she just nodded her head and ran over to May.

Lucario awoke when he felt a drop of water hit his nose. He shook his head and opened his eyes. He was alive? He tried to stand up, but with difficulty. He looked around to see that the room was being filled up with water.

"What have we done?" said Lucario, mainly talking to himself.

Lucario looked over at where the electric beast once stood. . .but it was gone! Replacing it was a young nude boy.

Misty ran over to May. The brunette looked perfectly fine, besides the fact that she had a stained hole in her shirt. Misty almost wanted to check and make sure May was alright, for, after all, she was completely dead only moments before. However it was the water that rose to her ankles that made Misty get right back to the subject. "May, do you have Ash's clothes?"

May covered her head as another spout of water erupted right above her and her brother. "Um, I don't know! Why would I have Ash's clothes?"

"Could you just check? Like now?" asked Misty, making it sound more like a demand rather than a question.

May looked down at her pouch and zipped it open. Sure enough, there were Ash's clothes, all stuffed up in her little pouch. May grabbed Ash's pants out of her pouch and handed it to Misty, who quickly ran over to Brock with the pants.

Lucario jogged over to Ash and Brock right as Misty was running over with the pants. Brock yanked the pants out of Misty's grasp and quickly slid them on Ash.

After what felt like forever and the water level raising around the group, Brock finally zipped Ash's pants on and picked him up, haling his limp body over his shoulder. "Alright, lets go!"

Lucario wanted to look at the limp boy's face, but with the chaos around him, it was next to impossible. Brock and Misty began running through the water and over to the other part of the group. Lucario followed close behind.

_Don't leave me. . ._

Lucario paused and looked back, seeing the oddly shaped purple Pokémon trying to stand up from the water.

* * *

Bob used his arm to cover his face as more water poured in, filling the room up to his chest. He waded through the rushing water towards the door. He shoved his thumb against the scanner under the water, and the door slowly slid open.

The water quickly rushed out of the room and out into the hallway outside of the room Bob was in.

Bob took in a deep breath, coughing up some water.

One of the scientists limped over to him, drenched from the water. He tried to say something at first, but kept gaging on some water he must've inhaled. The scientist coughed for a second, then looked back at Bob. "Sir! The whole place is coming down! Our generators are fried, our turrets are inactive, and the walls are caving in on us! This place is going to collapse, we need to leave now!"

Bob coughed up some water as well and wiped his hand across his face. He stood up and turned around.

Everything was fried. Everything was sparking with electrical wiring that was cut in half along with shattered monitor glass that covered the floor.

"No. . .you go. I will stay here," said Bob, taking in a deep breath.

The scientist looked shocked and argued as more water flooded in. "But sir! If you stay here you'll. . .you'll die!"

Bob just nodded his head. His eyes went to the scientist beside him, then to all of the machinery around him. "Look at this. I built this myself. . .all of it," said Bob. He looked down at his hands. They were wet from the water. "I built this place with these very hands. . .This is my life," explained Bob. "If my life is going under the ocean, then so will I."

The scientist wanted to argue further, but thought better of it. If he wants to die, then let him. The scientist turned and ran out the door, slipping on the water, but continued to move forward. Everyone else in the room soon followed his example, escaping as fast as they could.

Bob sighed. It had took him years to build this place. . .

He looked down at his arm, then up at a broken computer. He walked over to it and started typing, even though the keyboard was half there, he just started typing.

* * *

Bayleaf let some of her vines unwound around Xander, letting the poor Pichu breathe now that it was safe.

. . .Or at least. . . somewhat safe.

The group ran down a crumbling hallway, constantly dodging falling debris and pouring water. It seemed as though every step they took, the more water and obstacles there were.

They had no idea where they were going. It just seemed like the best idea to get out of there is to keep running. No one argued.

Brock still carried Ash while Lucario carried Mewtwo. The psychic was so weak that he couldn't even stand on his own legs. Lucario had to carry him by wrapping his arms around his neck from behind.

They ran. They ran and ran and ran. . .going somewhere just to realize that it was really nowhere. They continued to move "forward" until they finally reached a dead end.

The hallway was blocked with large blocks of metal that completely closed up the way to the other side.

"How do we get out now?" cried May, wiping the water out of her eyes.

Brock looked around, desperately trying to find another way out. "I. . .I. . .I don't know."

_Maybe. . . I can help_, said a voice.

Everyone turned around to see a very beaten and bruised Lugia squeezing his way towards them. Lucario yipped in happiness, but then groaned in pain from doing so, which annoyed Mewtwo on his back.

Lugia moved forward slowly, treading through the water. Everyone stepped over to the side as he approached them. The mighty bird raised up his head, opened his mouth, and fired one last blue beam at the blockade. The metal was blown away like paper. . .allowing the water to rush in by the millions of gallons.

Everyone staggered back, either by the force of the rushing water or from trying to get away from the water itself.

"What now?" shouted Max, straining his voice above the sound of the rushing water, quickly being soaked in water.

Lugia moved his head away from the incoming water, and by doing so spotted Lucario and Mewtwo. _Do you have any strength left? _Asked Lugia.

Lucario breathed. "Only a little."

_Any amount will help_, said Lugia.

_I. . .I may have some energy left as well_, said Mewtwo.

Lugia moved his head down towards the two of them. Lucario had to strain against the force of the rushing water to move his paw up to touch Lugia, Mewtwo having an even harder time. They were able to touch, and the three of them glowed.

Then a large bubble formed around the group, concealing Max, May, Misty, Brock, Ash, Bayleaf, Xander, Lugia, Lucario, and Mewtwo. There was no water in the bubble, only air. In fact, the bubble kept the pounding water out of it.

The bubble then moved towards the rushing water.

And somehow they began to float up. . .

* * *

Ash slowly opened his eyes, trying to look around. . .

Chaos. That was the first thing Ash saw once he was able to open his eyes.

At first Ash didn't understand what was going on. His body felt big and extremely heavy. His skin felt cold and his feet felt exposed. This body almost didn't feel like it was really his, it felt as though someone somehow placed him in a giant suit.

Ash could hear water. . .and explosions. He tried to open his eyes more, but they felt heavy and quickly closed back up.

He could hear his name being called. Someone. . .or some people were shouting his name along with other things Ash could not make out. His mind was dizzy and fuzzy, but was slowly clearing up.

Suddenly there was a great burst of sound that filled Ash's ears. For a split second, he felt weightless, but was quickly proved wrong as something hard slammed against his face and the side of his body. He curled up, gripping his hip that was hit. . .and realized that nothing hit him. . .it was he who hit it, the ground.

Ash opened his eyes, squinting at first from the light.

The ground was completely brown, not a single blade of grass was visible. Ash moved his head to look up, and saw a battlefield. The sky was filled with flying planes and jets, all shooting at each other. On one side of the sky was a huge red machine with the Team Magma symbol on its side, shooting red beams of light everywhere. On the other side was a flying machine that was just as big but was black with a large letter "R" on its side, shooting green beams of light right back at Team Magma.

Both teams were at full war with each other in both the sky and the ground. Pokémon baring the mark of whatever organization they were from battled till the death. Human members from both sides were sparring each other as their Pokémon fought. Those that weren't in close combat were using different weapons of every kind, both known and unknown to Ash.

At seeing this war zone around him, Ash was surprised that he was still alive. He tried to push himself up to his feet with his arm, but ended up jamming his hand into the ground. He winced in pain, recoiling his arm. . .it felt like it was too long. The distance from his shoulder to the ground should've been longer than that, shouldn't it?

That's when Ash looked at his hand. It was a human hand. . .his old hand. He was back in his old body? But how?

Just then, a stray red beam flew down from the sky and smashed into the ground right next to Ash, almost hitting him. However, the splash effect from such a huge blast sent Ash flying to the side. He hit a nearby tree, it's bark black and burnt.

Ash yelled out in pain and looked around for his friends. Brock and Misty were running for their lives, just trying their best to get away from the fight. However, they got caught up in one as Ash watch them get tackled by a Team Rocket brute.

Ash tried to get up to his feet, which took him much longer than needed be because of him trying to get used to the size difference. Once he did get to his feet, he saw Mewtwo crawling away from the water. The poor psychic looked so broken and weak. It didn't take long for Team rocket to grab him and conceal him in a net. Mewtwo tried to fight, but to no avail.

Then there was Bayleaf. She was calling out, looking everywhere for someone.

Ash took a step forward. . .and nearly fell over himself. He staggered back up to his feet, then ran over to Bayleaf, noticing that he was only wearing pants.

"Bay-bayleaf! Come over here!" shouted Ash.

Bayleaf heard Ash's voice and ran over to him, but was quickly slammed with a huge rock fist. A Geodude floated over to Bayleaf and must've thought she was an enemy!

Bayleaf wailed in pain and was flung to the ground, completely worn out.

"No! Bayleaf!" shouted Ash. He ran over to Bayleaf's side.

The Geodude was about to punch Ash as well once he ran over to protect Bayleaf, but then was hit with a blue sphere. Ash looked over and saw the Lucario.

Lucario looked just as tired as Bayleaf, if not more. He ran over to Ash and fell down to his knees, exhausted.

Ash looked at Lucario. . .and looked into his eyes. Then, he looked over at Bayleaf. . .and saw that she didn't have Xander. That must've been who she was looking for from before!

"Xander!" shouted Ash at Bayleaf, looking around at the war zone around him. "Where is he?"

Ash began to panic, looking around for his son wildly. Lucario tried to calm him down by placing a paw on his shoulder.

"Ash. . ." said Lucario, trying to be soothing with all of the explosions and fighting around him.

"Xander!" called out Ash. "Xan, where are you!"

Lucario placed both of his paws on Ash's shoulders and forced Ash to look at him. Ash did so and looking back into Lucario's eyes.

The aura Pokémon stared back at Ash, ignoring all of the fighting around him. His expression showed that it was time to give up. . .and hope for the best.

"My. . ." started Lucario, placing a paw on Ash's cheek. "You have your mother's skin." Lucario placed his paw on Ash's hat, slowly pulling it off to reveal his hair. "And. . .oh wow. . .you've grown so much."

Ash grabbed his hat, not looking away from Lucario. "I know you," he said. "But. . .how? Who are you?"

Lucario took a deep breath, not looking away from Ash. "Ash Ketchum. . .I am the Lucario that your mother trained when she was your age. . .and. . ." Lucario blinked. "And I am your father."

Just then, a huge green beam of light flew through the sky from the Team Rocket war machine, soaring down towards them.

Ash looked down at Bayleaf, then at Lucario. .

Lucario embraced Ash and covered him in his own body, quickly adjusting to cover Bayleaf beneath them as well.

Then the green beam hit. . .

And darkness covered the sky.


	23. Epilogue

**Alright, again I am very sorry that this took so long. Originally, this was supposed to have been published right after the last chapter, but a friend of mine asked me to wait so he could draw a picture for me. Me loving having as much fan pictures as I could get gladly said yes. . .but after a while he told me that he was unable to draw the picture. So, I was going to post this then...but I didn't like what I had written. I deleted everything and started from scratch. . .then I deleted that scratch and started from new scratch. I basically restarted the entired thing about two or three times because I didn't like how it turned out. I'm still not too sure about this one, but I think it'll do. There's already too many people bugging me to finish this up.**

**Also, don't expect much action, this is basically just here to explain everything...or at least everything that came up to my head that needed to be explained...**

**Enjoy!**

Inner Strength: Epilogue

Ash woke up. He was laying on his back, facing up towards a bright blue sky. However, he did not see the blueness of the sky first, for the blueness of a glowing black paw was being held right above his face.

The paw belonged to the Lucario. The Aura Pokemon had his eyes closed and his glowing paws right above Ash's body. His black hair stood up on the back of his head, seeming to vibrate on their own accord.

It didn't take long for Lucario to realize that Ash had woken up. The Pokemon opened his own eyes soon after Ash did.

"You're awake!" exclaimed the Lucario, pulling his two paws away.

Ash groaned in approval and tried to sit himself up. It was awfully and surprisingly hard for him to do so, and he would've fallen right back down to his back if it wasn't for Lucario's quick aid in helping him up.

"Son, you're tired. You need more rest," soothed the Lucario, softly pushing Ash towards his back. Ash didn't comply and forced himself up to a sitting position, using his abnormally long arms to push up his enormously heavy body. Lucario didn't fight him once he realized that the boy really wanted to get up.

Once Ash managed to sit himself up, he felt dead tired.

"What. . .what is wrong with me?" wondered Ash out loud, gasping between words. "Why. . .why is everything. . .so tiring?"

Lucario moved himself to be in front of Ash so the tired trainer would not need to crane his head around. "You're tired, that's the best explanation I can give. You just changed from one species to a complete opposite one, and that takes a lot of energy."

Ash groaned again, laying his hand against his head. It throbbed from some sort of small pain. "How long was I asleep?"

"A few hours, give or take," replied the Lucario. "That's why you need to rest some more."

"But. . .what about everyone else?" Ash suddenly remembered the past events that had happened not too long ago. "Where are my friends? Where is Team Rocket and Team Magma and Team Aqua? What happened to my son, Xander? Where is. . ."

Lucario placed a paw on Ash's shoulder, trying to calm the boy down. "They're fine, Ash. Everything is fine. Look around."

And Ash did. He saw Pallet Town, no different then the way it was when he first left it with Pikachu. The grass was bright green and swayed with the wind, the forest around the town stood tall and brown, even the houses were just the same. Nothing looked destroyed, nothing nor anyone looked harmed, and nothing looked damaged. Everything looked just fine, exactly what Ash did not expect to see right after a whole great battle.

"But. . .I don't understand," said Ash, in complete awe as he continued to stare. "How is this even possible?"

Lucario chuckled a bit, shaking his head. "It's not."

Ash turned his head around to face the Pokemon, now even more confused. "Then. . .how is this all still here?"

Lucario scratched the back of his head. "Well, you're not going to like the answer, I'm sure. It's one word and it starts with an 'A'."

Ash immediately knew the answer. "Artemis?"

The Lucario nodded his head.

"But. . .how?" asked the boy.

Lucario shrugged his shoulders. "To be honest, I'm not sure either. That man has wicked power." Lucario leaned closer towards Ash, digging his dog-like gaze into the boy's eyes. "Remember when we were about to be shot by that big ship in the sky? That whole battlefield around us was going on and everything?" Ash nodded his head. "Well, right before we were killed, Artemis came in and stopped everything."

"Wait. . .what do you mean? How?" asked Ash.

"I don't know. He just. . .did," answered Lucario. "All I remember is this bright light flashing before my eyes, then I saw Artemis standing right in front of me." Lucario leaned back and sat down on his bottom.

Ash was still confused. He knew Artemis had power. . .but that much? "But then. . .what about my friends? What about Bayleef, Max, Brock, Misty, May. . ." Then Ash remembered what happened to May. "Wait, May! Where is she? Is she alive?"

Lucario waved his paw. "Artemis told me that they are all fine. He told me that he teleported them all back to where they were originally before all of this ever happened."

"But then. . .why am I still here? Why did he not teleport me with my friends?"

"That is because of me," answered Lucario, sitting up straight. "I. . .um. . .wanted to talk to you. Artemis did want to teleport you back to your original journey, but I convinced him to let us two stay for just a bit longer."

"Why?" asked Ash.

"Because I want to talk to you, like I said before," answered Lucario. "I've been waiting for over ten years to finally talk to you and your mother."

As soon as Lucario said the word "mother" another question popped into Ash's head.

"Wait, where is Misty II?"

Lucario looked confused and tilted his head. "Who?"

"Xander's mother! The female Pikachu! I need to find her!" yelled out Ash, quickly getting up to his feet. The boy staggered around a bit on his week legs, but forced himself to stand and ran back over to the river.

The Lucario yelled at Ash, trying to get him to stop, but to no avail.

Ash ran over to the river. What he was looking for, not even he knew. Maybe he hoped that somehow the Pikachu that loved him would be standing there. . .somewhere. . .just waiting for him.

The boy almost believed that he could hear her voice. Was it coming from the water? Ash kneeled down at the shore and looked down into the river's depths.

"Misty!" shouted the boy. "Misty II!"

But the water stayed quiet. It glimmered and shined in the sunlight, but showed no form of any Pokemon.

Ash slammed his fist into the water in anger, shouting out the Pikachu's name again, but again nothing happened. The water only rippled out of the way, glistening and sparkling in a mockingly manner.

Lucario jogged over to Ash, worried.

"Ash, what is wrong?" asked the Pokemon.

"She's in there!" shouted Ash. "I have to go down there and get her, Lucario! I need to save her!" Ash jumped up to his feet and almost dived into the water if it wasn't for Lucario stopping him.

"Ash, no! Stop it, no one is alive down there!" shouted Lucario.

"No! She is alive!" shouted back Ash, tears streaming down his face. "She has to be! We have to take care of Xander!"

Then it hit Lucario. Now he knew who this Misty II must be to Ash. With a solemn face Lucario shook his head. "I am sorry, Ash. . .but she is gone."

Hearing that did not help Ash at all. More tears poured out of his eyes and he shook his head. "No, you're wrong. She's alive, she just has to be alive! I was going to go save her after. . ."

Lucario placed his paws on Ash's shoulders, looking straight into the boy's eyes to try and calm him down. "I'm sorry, Ash. There is nothing you can do. She's gone."

Finally. . .the reality hit Ash.

Misty II. . .mother of the only son Ash's has. . .and the one person that truly loved him from the beginning all the way to her end. . .was dead. The water that took Team Aqua away also took Xander's mother's life away.

Ash fell down to his knees, his eyes still filled with wet tears. For a few moments he wasn't able to talk, he just simply continued to look onto the river's beautiful water. . .the grave of his Misty II.

Lucario sat down on the ground next to Ash, sitting close in an attempt to comfort the boy.

The two sat in silence for awhile. . .until Lucario spoke.

"Did you love her?" he asked.

Ash did not speak immediately. First, he whipped his eyes, then sat down on his bottom from his knees.

"I don't even know. . .I wasn't able to stay with her long enough to find out," said the boy. "Without me knowing. . .she gave me Xan. . .and now that I have Xan. . .I can't imagine what I could do without him."

Lucario nodded his head. "I know the feeling all too well, Ash."

Ash wiped his eyes and looked at the Pokemon. "How?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Ash," said the Lucario. "I'm sure that you're not too happy with me and what I did, so I wanted to tell you my side of the story."

Ash sniffed and straightened himself up, moving his look into a glare at Lucario.

"So you're still saying that you are my dad? How is that even possible?"

Lucario chuckled loudly at hearing that. "Ha! So says the boy with a Pichu for a son! You think it's impossible for me to have a human son?"

That quieted Ash down and he let the Pokemon start his speech.

Lucario took in a deep breath. "Well it is hard to make this as short as possible, but I will do what I can. See, similar to what the humans do, once a Lucario becomes of age, he or she will be allowed to leave their 'parents' and go out into the world. That is exactly what I did and (to make a long story short) I found your mother."

"She told me that you saved her," commented Ash, still listening.

Lucario paused and pondered that for a bit, trying to remember. "Yeah, I guess I did. The guy trying to hurt her wasn't really very tough and neither was his Pokemon. He was just trying to scare the little girl, that's all."

"But then why did you help her?" asked Ash.

"I. . .I don't exactly know," answered Lucario. "At the time, there was just something about her that. . ." Lucario grunted in annoyance and shrugged. "I don't know how to explain it. My best explanation is that it simply just happened. I saw her in trouble and I wanted to help, that's all."

"So it wasn't love at first sight or anything?"

"Oh no, no, no!" said Lucario, waving his paws around. "Not at all. When I first laid eyes on her, I wasn't thinking of anything like that. She's a human, I am a Pokemon. Love between people doesn't just click, especially between different species. It takes time."

"Then why did you stay with my mom?"

"She asked me. After I helped her from that man, she told me that she was a trainer and that she needed a Pokemon. I thought that it could be fun, so I joined her." Lucario looked up into the air, making slight movements with his mouth. It looked as if he was…counting something in the air. "We were together for about. . .I want to say eight or nine years, and boy those were great years, years that flew right on by.

"I remember feeling something odd about your mother around that time. At first, I paid no attention to it, but then I kept finding myself getting into some awkward moments with Delia, and that's when I knew. I was in love with her. As soon as I realized that, I tried my hardest at everything we did together. During training, I gave Delia one hundred and ten percent when she asked for a hundred. I wanted to impress her, which I did, but not in the ways that I wanted. Delia could see me trying hard, but I don't believe that she saw me trying to impress her.

"Days went by and I wanted to tell her. I wanted to confess my love for my Delia so badly, but I was scared. I was scared that she would not accept me and maybe even disown me. All these years would have been thrown away if that were to happen."

"So then. . .what did you do?" asked Ash.

Lucario took in a deep breath. "I got desperate. One day I ran off into the woods and told Delia that I would be right back. I just wanted to clear my head, that's all. . .but I met this man. He was a very odd human. He looked like any ordinary one, but he wore this lab coat on. I asked him who he was, but instead he went on to who I was. Somehow he knew everything about me, even the stuff I didn't know. He knew how old I was, where I was born, the people I've battled, who Delia was. . .he even somehow knew that I was in love with her.

"I was as shocked as could be and demanded what he wanted from me. He told me that he was a scientist and wanted to try out an experiment. I said no at first. . .but he persuaded me. He told me that if his experiment works, that I could be with Delia. I could love her without any fear. I didn't even think about what could happen, so I just said yes."

Lucario's eyes grew dark and he stared into Ash's own eyes. "That human went by the name of Artemis."

Now Ash was shocked. Suddenly it all seemed to make sense. Artemis started this whole thing, starting with his father. That must be the reason why Artemis chose Ash for the potion, because his father, Lucario, was also used.

"Artemis?" repeated Ash. "He turned you into a human?"

Lucario nodded. "And to make an even longer story short, I was able to get Delia to fall in love with my human self. . .and we had you."

"And that's when you left me?" asked Ash, his anger come back to him.

Lucario sighed and looked at Ash, trying to pull out some sympathy from the boy's eyes. "Please, Ash. You have to understand. I was scared. I never intended on having a child with Delia, and when I had a human son, I didn't know what to do."

"So then I was an accident?" said Ash, raising his voice.

"Ash, please don't-"

"No, I see what you are saying! I was never supposed to have been born, but because I exist you had to go run away. Is that it?"

"Ash!" yelled back Lucario, raising up his paw. "I had to run away! While I was still human, I did get scared, yes, and I did do some things that I regret now, but the potion that Artemis gave me was wearing out. I changed back into a Lucario a few days after you were born and that's when I ran away. I had no choice, I didn't want to have to explain to Delia that her boyfriend was actually a Pokemon! I just couldn't do it."

"You couldn't do it?" shouted Ash, trying to stand himself back up. "You were gone all of my life, do you know how hard it was for me and my mom? Do you know how hard it is to grow up without knowing who your dad is? Do you have any idea what you did to us?"

Before Lucario could object, Ash stood himself up and turned around to walk away.

The river was before him again, but there was something different now.

BAM!

Lucario, having tried to stand up to approach his son, fell down to his back, resting a paw on his now wounded shoulder. A blue beam erupted from the barrel of a gun that was being held by a battered and soaking wet man that had only one arm.

Ray.

The grunt shifted his sights from Lucario and up to Ash's forehead. He was breathing hard, having held his breath to nearly get out of the base alive. His clothes were all torn and his muscles were so tense that his vines popped out. His eyes were blood shot, but his arm held his gun steady as a rock.

"You. . .ruined. . .everything," said the grunt, gasping between words, but not letting his gun lower. "I'm going. . .to freaking. . .kill you."

Ash raised up his hands, trying to back away.

"Ray, please don't! Team Aqua is done, it's all over!" said Ash. "There is no point to any of this."

"No!" shouted Ray, shaking his head. "It is not over! Team Aqua. . .will come again. You'll see. . .as long as I can breath, I will make sure of it. But right now. . .you need to die!"

Ash could see Ray's finger tense around the trigger, so he closed his eyes. . .the only thing the boy could do.

BAM!

Ash winced as he heard the noise, but he didn't feel anything. The boy opened his eyes and saw Ray, still there, but his hands were flinging around everywhere with his head pulled back.

"AGH! Get this thing off of me!" shouted the grunt.

Ray tried to reach his arms back behind him, but his head was tugged back. He yelled in pain and turned around. . .giving Ash a clear view of a small Pichu holding onto the man's hair.

"No! Hurt! Daddy!" shouted the small Pichu, pulling back on Ray's hair.

Ash couldn't believe what he was seeing. Xander was. . .defending him!

But it was short lived as the grunt managed to grab the Pichu and threw him to the ground. Ash quickly lunged forward at Ray, trying to take this momentary distraction so that he could make an attack.

However, Ray was still quick on his feet. The grunt easily blocked Ash's weak attack and nailed him in the face with the butt of his gun. Ash fell down to the ground, his head now throbbing in pain.

The boy looked over and saw his son, laying still in the grass. Ash crawled over to Xander and picked him up. The Pichu was okay, but he was still hurt.

"Please, Ray. Leave us alone," Ash begged, holding his son close to his chest.

But Ray would not let that happen. He had nothing but anger. His only thirst was for vengence. The grunt lifted his pistol up and aimed at Ash's head once more.

"I am sorry, but I cant let you do that."

Ash, Ray, Lucario, and even Xander all looked over to where the sound of the voice came from. Right behind Ash stood a figure that was dressed in a full black cloak with a black hood that covered his face.

Artemis raised up his hand towards Ray. The pistol in Ray's hand began to shake violently, then was pulled out of his grip, almost as if an invisible hand pulled it away. Ray tried to reach out and grab the gun, but just as soon as it left his hand it vanished in thin air.

Ray yelled out in anger and pointed a finger at Artemis.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the grunt shouted.

Artemis lifted us hand up beside his hood, keeping his thumb and index finger together.

"As of right now, I am only a figment of your imagination."

Artemis snapped his fingers. . .and just like that Ray was gone.

Ash was stunned. In only a matter of seconds, Ray was going to take his life, and now it was like he was never there to begin with! The spot that originally held the large Aqua grunt didn't even show any signs of placement. The grass stood straight up, the ground did not shift, even the small sticks were still whole instead of broken up.

The boy turned to look at Artemis, staring at him in amazement.

"What did you do to him?" asked Ash, still clutching Xander.

"Technically I did absolutely nothing to him," answered Artemis. The cloaked man lowered his hand and placed it behind his back. "I simply sent him back to where he originally was before any of this happened. He might wake up with a slight headache and think that this was all just a simple dream."

Ash was still stunned.

"But. . .you just. . .like that?"

Artemis nodded.

"Yes, 'just like that'. I did the same thing with Team Magma, Team Rocket, and Team Aqua."

After hearing that, Ash realized something. What he realized made him furious with anger and hate towards Artemis.

"Wait. . .if you could do all of that, then why did any of this happen?" asked Ash, nearly shouting.

"Excuse me?" said Artemis.

Xander tucked his little head away at hearing his father's angry voice. It scared him, but Ash was too mad to even notice it.

"All this time, you could have stopped all of this! Team Magma wouldn't have to have come here to fight Team Aqua, Team Aqua could have been destroyed without me and my friends nearly killing ourselves, I could have turned back into a human earlier to prevent all of this, and Misty II would still be alive!" shouted Ash, standing up to his feet.

Artemis didn't move. Ash wished that he could see that man's face, he wanted to see what emotions were running through his mind right now, but the hood completely covered up everything from view.

"Yes, you are correct at that, Ash," stated Artemis. "I could have prevented all of that, but if I did then I would not have gotten all of this information. This experiment has greatly outdone any of my previous ones."

At that, Lucario stood up. He held his paw on his shoulder where Ray shot him, but besides not being able to move that arm, he was completely fine.

"You take that back, Artemis! You're experimenting has ruined not only my life but many others!" stated the Pokemon.

"Not true," answered Artemis. "After all, if it was not for my research then Ash would not even be standing here and neither would Xander."

That made both Ash and Lucario speechless. But it was true. If anything Artemis did play a very significant role in their lives.

Artemis turned his head. It was impossible to accurately tell, but it looked as if he was looking at the sun.

"Time is running short. It is time to go, Ash," said Artemis.

"Me?" asked Ash. "Where am I going?"

"Back to where you started: on the trail heading for Xemson Town. You will return to your friends that were with you at the time. Your wounds will heal and your clothes will be fixed to the way they were at the time before any of this happened. You will remember none of this, it will be as if this never happened," answered Artemis.

"Wait, you mean you're going to erase my memories?" asked Ash, backing up. Artemis confirmed it with a nod, causing Ash to panic even more. "But. . .you can't do that! What about Xander? You can't make me forget my own son!"

"Yes I can, and I will," said Artemis. "You need to return to your journey uninterrupted. Having a child that is your offspring will disrupt everything and at the least slow you down. You still have a long road before you."

"No!" shouted Ash, holding Xander closely to his chest. "I won't let you! I don't want to leave Xan again!"

Ash backed up some more, still holding his son close. Lucario stepped forward, bringing himself between Artemis and Ash.

"I stand with him," said Lucario. "I regret not being with my son and I don't want him to feel the same."

Artemis stood there. Both Lucario and Ash starred at him, wondering what he was doing. Was he hesitating? Will he actually let Ash keep his memories?

"It was not a question," said Artemis.

Then, the cloaked man raised up a hand and snapped his fingers.

* * *

"Maybe we went the wrong way?"

Ash blinked. He felt something weird. . .like he missed something. He turned to look at Brock. The young adult was busy looking at a map, trying to find out where they were exactly. Pikachu was sitting on his other shoulder, saying a random "chu" every now and then whenever he would see something of interest. Ash saw May standing on his other side, bending over so she could get a good look at the map that Brock was holding to see if she could make out where they were. Then there was Max, standing next to his sister.

Everything seemed. . .fine.

"Hey guys," asked Ash, still walking down the path while talking. "Have any of you ever gotten a funny feeling that. . .something just happened? Like we just missed it somehow?"

Now May turned her head and stood straight up, looking at Ash. "Like what? Did we miss something?"

Ash shrugged. "I don't know. . .I guess it's just me."

Pikachu climbed over Ash's head and sat on his other shoulder, getting himself comfortable, letting out another "Chu."

Now Ash looked over Brock's shoulder to look at the map. He saw a small black dot and pointed at it, asking, "Hey Brock, what city is this?"

* * *

Artemis walked up to Professor Oak and handed him the little Pichu named Xander.

"Here, raise him well," said Artemis.

Oak took the Pichu, holding the little child in his arms. He looked up at Artemis and asked the most simplest of questions, "Why?"

"You will take care of him," said Artemis. "Ash is to never know of this child. You are to teach him, feed him, care for him, raise him like a normal human boy."

Oak looked down at Xander. The Pichu looked up at the scientist with a scared look on his face, his eyes darting to different sides of the room they stood in.

"I suppose I don't have a choice in the matter, do I?" asked the professor.

Artemis nodded, then turned towards the Lucario.

"You may assist Professor Oak in any means necessary, however you cannot see Ash either. He is to never know of you or the child until I deem it acceptable."

Lucario clenched his paws in anger. . .but he did not object.

"Can I still see Delia then?" the Pokemon asked. . .but it was more of a beg.

Artemis shook his head, enraging Lucario even more.

"If Ash's mother is to know the truth about you, then eventually Ash will find out as well. He is to know nothing about any of this, and if somehow he does. . .I will take care of it," stated Artemis.

At saying that, Artemis turned to leave. . .but Oak objected.

"Wait Artemis!" said Oak, raising up a hand. "Tell me: if Ash never received my serum, then how did he change back into a human?"

The cloaked figure stood there for a moment, then turned around.

"I suppose both of you would have many questions, and I see nothing wrong in answering some of them," he said. "Now for Ash, something that I overlooked happened."

"What?" asked Lucario.

"You see, the potion that I gave Ash was created to constantly duplicate and replicate DNA," explained Artemis. "Any natural body will quickly reject this new DNA and dispose of it, which is why the potion has to constantly make more and more of it, like a virus in a way.

"Now, the potion only had enough energy to create this DNA to keep Ash a Pikachu for only a week, however once he mated with a female, this changed his body chemistry completely. Now Ash's body was busy making new sperm based off of this new DNA to ready itself for developing offspring, it was no longer interested in disposing of the new DNA. This is way the potion's effects were increased and went from a time frame of one week to one year."

"But you said that the potion had only a certain amount of energy to create this DNA," restated Oak. "How could it still have enough energy for a whole year?"

"That was what I overlooked," answered Artemis. "To simply put it: it was love. This may not sound very scientific, but the energy behind the love that the female Pikachu had for Ash gave the potion that much energy. Her love fueled the potion, causing Ash to stay as a Pikachu for a much longer span of time."

"It was love you overlooked?" asked Lucario. "If that's the case, then how does this explain how Ash turned back into a human?"

"For the same reason: love," answered Artemis again. Lucario and Oak both looked at each other, confused even more. Artemis made a motion with his shoulders that looked like he was sighing.

"When Misty made it to Ash and kissed him, there was that love energy again. However, this time it was from both parties: Ash and the female. Before, it was only the female that had this true love, but with the love behind Misty's kiss, it sparked the love energy within Ash. The potion was filled with so much energy that it exploded (in a way), that's why there was that bright light: it was the potion being destroyed by so much energy."

Oak made a face that looked like he was confused. . .but understood at the same time. It was an odd look, and it made Xander giggle in the scientist's arms.

"I guess that explains that, but what about how Ash turned into that. . .beast?" Lucario asked. "There is no way a normal Pikachu could accomplish that."

"That one is easy," said Artemis. "And in all honesty, any electric Pokemon could accomplish that if given the right amount of time and effort. Lets use a Pikachu as an example. When the Pikachu does not use its electricity for a long period of time, what happens?"

Oak was the first one to answer this. "It gets sick and runs a cold. It turns magnetic because of all of the electricity building up."

"Exactly, the electricity builds up. Pikachus constantly make electricity, for it is how they naturally defend themselves in the wild. Ash never used electricity at all, so it continued to build up inside of him," explained Artemis.

"But he never acted sick," stated Oak. "He walked and acted just fine, not like a Pikachu with a cold."

"That's because the human half of Ash did not know what to do," said Artemis. "Electricity was being made within Ash, but since his mind was still so accustomed to it being inside of a human body, it did not know what to do with the electricity. Either that or did not recognize it."

"And then when he was able to use it. . ." mumbled Lucario to himself, remembering the events. As he recalled everything, he remembered the human female that seemed dead come back to life. "Hey, what about that girl? She was shot right in the chest, and yet she was alive later. How is that possible?"

"The one you speak of calls herself May, I believe," said Artemis. "And that was something extraordinary." The cloaked figure turned to the professor. "You do know how Pikachus mate, correct?" The scientist nodded his head. "Then this should make some sense to you. See, the potion continued to create the DNA and when Ash mated with the female Pikachu, all of that new DNA went into his sperm. Now that sperm contained everything that made Ash a Pikachu, including his extra abilities that I gave him. These include strength, speed, regeneration, and telepathy. Ash and May were once in the river that Team Aqua was in to try and find a Squirtle I believe. May could not make it down by herself, so she thought that if she breathed some air into Ash's lungs, he could make it instead."

"And they mated?" asked Lucario, a bit shocked at this.

Artemis shook his head. "No, but Ash did do his part of the mating. Little did May know that she now had some of Ash's potion inside of her, however it was not enough to change her into a Pikachu as well."

"But then why did it take her so long to heal?" asked Lucario. "She was down on the ground, dead, for a long time."

"My potion was only activated when it had electricity," started Artemis. "Ash's Pikachu supplied me with the electricity at the start of this whole thing. It was Ash's electricity that shocked May's dead body that activated the small amount of potion inside of her. Like I said before: it was not enough to change her into a Pikachu, but it was just enough to heal her of her wound.

"Now, I have stayed longer than I intended to. I must be off," said Artemis turning again to leave.

"No, wait! I still have more questions!" begged Lucario. The Pokemon lunged over at Artemis, trying to stop him from getting away. . .and managed to grab his hood.

And down the hood slid. . .

Both the professor and the Pokemon gasped at what they saw.

Artemis turned around to face them both. . .then pulled the hood back over his face, concealing his look in darkness again.

"What have you done to yourself, Artemis?" asked Oak, still in shock of what he saw.

Artemis turned around once more, walking slowly towards the door.

"What was necessary. . ."

And just like that, the cloaked man was gone.

Now the old man cared for the hybrid child with the assistance of the child's grandfather. The child's father continued his journey, finding more Pokemon and earning even more badges while meeting new people, never aware that he had a son or a father.

Xander Taran Ketchum also grew up, never knowing of his father. . .

Until it was deemed. . .acceptable.

* * *

"When all else fails and the body gives up. . .the mind takes over and a person's true inner strength is revealed"

Colby R. M.

END

**Finally, it is done! No more! I came, I wrote, and I kicked ass...hopefully.**

**Anyways, I have heard that I have some fans that love games, mainly games on the Xbox 360. If you are one of those people, I would love to talk to you and kick your ass in a nice game of Call of Duty along with other favorites.**

**Gamertag: Please send me an email or something.**

**Peace ya'll!**


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